J.D. POTIÉ
FORT COULONGE
Dec. 14, 2019
The Golden Age Club in Fort Coulonge was bursting with Christmas cuisine and holiday cheer as . . .
around 80 people gathered for the organization’s annual Christmas dinner on Saturday night.
According to club President Lyda Lapratte, the event was an occasion for the Golden Age club to give back to the community by bringing people together for a traditional holiday meal.
She said the event has been taking place on an annual basis for over 20 years and that it’s one of the club’s most beneficial fundraisers.
Inside the hall, scores of attendees sat at their tables and socialized while Christmas music blared from the loud speakers on hand. In the kitchen, several hard-working volunteers prepared an old-fashioned Christmas dinner, featuring freshly carved turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy and sweet cranberry sauce.
Before serving dinner, Lapratte opened the event with a word of welcome where she thanked everyone for attending the event and supporting the Golden Age Club’s initiatives.
For Lapratte, the most important part about the event is that it gives local seniors a chance to socialize and hopefully make some new friends.
“The seniors enjoy it,” she said. “They get to go out and they often don’t have anything to do. It gives them a chance to take a break from thinking about being old and stuff like that.”
While the overall turnout was less than in previous years, with so much going on in other parts of the region, Lapratte was still happy with the number of people who showed up and supported.
“Usually, the hall is packed,” she said. “But there were four other parties.”
