PARIS — Lolalee Dillingham and her husband, Gordon, were going to drive to Litchfield for Thanksgiving until the snow struck Wednesday night. Betty Davis had planned to eat with extended family until they decided not to host it. She reached out to her pal, Myrtle Cadenelli, who otherwise would have eaten alone.

The four friends from Oxford Hills sat at the end of a long table in the Paris Fire Station on Thursday, laughing over dessert.

“He loved the pecan pie. I prefer the pound cake,” Lolalee said. “I really believe it was an awesome thing these people did today. We’ve seen so many people we know.”

Cadenelli agreed, saying, “We’re in good company.”

Ninety people turned out for Thanksgiving dinner, a free community meal pulled together just weeks ago.

Rachael Follansbee of Otisfield and Shauna Grenier of West Paris organize an annual Turkey Trot 5K for which participants bring canned goods for a local food pantry. Follansbee said this year, as they packed up the food to donate, that she and Grenier started talking about what more they could do.

“In the middle of the conversation, from one thing to the next, this idea just came up: ‘We’re just going to cook and feed everybody,'” she said.

They enlisted four friends — Kieri Delano, Shelley Kennagh, Cathy Jordan and Krystall Redman — and the six of them put out the call to family, friends and local businesses. 

“It basically became a rapid-fire,” Delano said. “I think we have an amazing community as it is, but it just goes to show how amazing when in 48 hours we can raise enough food to feed 200 to 300 people.”

When the group decided to gather coloring books and crayons for kids coming to the meal, Delano put the request out on Facebook. “Within five minutes somebody said, ‘I will do all 100 coloring books and crayons.'”

On Thursday, they had a spread of 40 turkeys and warming pans filled with creamy whipped potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and squash next to bread, little dishes of cranberry sauce and pats of butter.

The Stevens family, mother Tracie, father Tony, and children Dawson, 14, Hallie, 11, and Carson, 6, manned the dessert table spread with pies, cookies and breads, ready to dollop whipped cream or serve a slice.

The early favorite: pecan pie.

“It feels good helping people,” Hallie said.

Stephen Dunham, who described himself as couch surfing with friends, was one of the first to arrive, wearing a red Santa hat.

“I’m going to hit all three of (the free public meals in the area) for the fun of it, just to see who’s out and about,” he said.

Mary and Richard Marshall of South Paris said they’d moved into a smaller home and didn’t have the room to host a big dinner anymore.

“You put three people in the kitchen and it’d be crowded,” Richard Marshall said.

They sat at a table with their son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren.

“The food is great; the people are great,” Mary Marshall said.

Follansbee said leftovers were brought to several local families, to a women’s shelter and to 911 dispatchers. She planned to make turkey pies out of the extra turkey and find good homes for them so nothing would go to waste.

She said after cleanup everyone was asking, “‘What are we doing next year?'”

kskelton@sunjournal.com