By ALEX PIAZZA
TRAVERSE CITY -- Julie Compeau had a rough year.
She lost her mother after a long battle with heart problems. Compeau, 46, of Traverse City, endures pain as she battles leukemia. Her ailments forced her to transfer guardianship of her two youngest children to a close friend.
And Compeau's friend and roommate died of liver cancer Thursday morning. Now she's left with a hefty rent payment for a mobile home she can't afford.
"I'm still living in the trailer, but it probably won't be for long," Compeau said. "I might have to be out of here by Saturday."
But on Thursday Compeau put her troubles "on the back burner," and fixed a Thanksgiving Day feast for her two children and her roommate's family.
"I wouldn't care if we had grilled cheese sandwiches, as long as my kids are here," she said. "I consider myself blessed because they're here with me."
Other community groups and organizations chipped in to brighten the holiday for the area's needy. Members of the Traverse City Elks Lodge 323 this week crafted 100 food baskets for local families, gifts that included a turkey, potatoes, vegetables, gravy and biscuits.
Officials with the State Theatre in Traverse City and the Antrim County Democratic Party gave away hundreds of frozen turkeys on Tuesday, and a local church and veterans' club provided Thanksgiving dinner to scores of area residents. Other organizations delivered hot meals to the hungry.
Volunteering spirit
Hundreds of volunteers crowded Trinity Lutheran Church's basement Thursday morning.
Some passed out name tags, others prepared mashed potatoes and gravy.
More than 40 drivers camped out in the parking lot and awaited meals they'd deliver to area residents unable leave their home.
It was all part of the Community Meals Program, which planned to serve more than 800 hungry people Thursday, said coordinator Sandra Svec.
Bill Tessman, of Traverse City, anticipated a large crowd at Trinity due to the state's miserable economy.
"My income is small, but I believe I should share whatever I have with others," said Tessman, who's volunteered on Thanksgiving Day at Trinity for more than a decade. "It's a pretty positive atmosphere here, too. Some people come here just to get away from all of their problems."
Local armed services veterans also were treated to a good meal on Thursday.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2780 and Forgotten Eagles of Michigan Chapter 6 jointly threw a Thanksgiving Day feast that attracted hundreds of veterans and their families.
"We'll stay here until the last vet's fed," said Paul Smith, Forgotten Eagles' president.
Several local businesses donated items to feed Thursday's crowd at the Cherryland Post in Traverse City, and in order to feed the veterans and their families, more than 50 volunteers served food and washed dishes.
"These people are taking time away from their own Thanksgiving to serve people they don't even know," Smith said. "That's how it should be."
'Bittersweet'
Compeau this week received a turkey and all the fixings from the Father Fred Foundation, as did hundreds of others across northern Michigan.
Her son Jarred, 15, munched stuffing and reveled in his mom's home-cooking.
"She's a great cook," Jarred said. "I don't look like it, but I can eat a lot. I just have a fast metabolism."
Compeau summed up Thursday as a "bittersweet holiday." She was able to cook for her children, but it was the first Thanksgiving in years when she couldn't celebrate with her mother and roommate.
Compeau's medical problems prohibit her from holding a full-time job, so her rent struggles likely will send her back to the Goodwill Inn Homeless Shelter in Traverse City, which provides emergency shelter and access to donated food for the area's homeless.
Still, the chance to cook for her family and friends "was definitely satisfying," thanks in large part to Father Fred, she said.
"We would've had nothing this Thanksgiving if it weren't for them," she said. "We probably would've been eating hot dogs and macaroni and cheese."
