Beerman Thanksgiving Day Dinner ends

DAYTON — The Beerman Annual Thanksgiving Day Dinner — an annual Dayton tradition that continued for 40 years — has come to an end.

William S. Weprin, president of the The Beerman Foundation, said Thursday, Sept. 10, that the 2008 dinner was the last one, capping a tradition that served more than 200,000 turkey dinners during its tenure.

“It has been heartwarming to provide a traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner to so many wonderful people and have a hand in the development of community pride and spirit and a strong case could certainly be made to continue the event. However, after considerable thought and discussion, the foundation directors felt a need to focus their efforts on programs covering broader areas and those beneficial on a year round basis,” he said in a written statement.

The annual Thanksgiving dinner was believed to be the largest of its kind in the nation having served an average of 4,000 turkey dinners per year.

Weprin stressed that although he and Barbara, who is Arthur Beerman’s daughter, have relocated to Florida, there are no plans to move the foundation out of Dayton. “Unlike so many things that are leaving Dayton,” he said, “the funds we’ve used for this dinner are still in town, and they’re going to stay in town.”

He noted that private foundations such as the Beerman Foundation “are really set up to support public charities” and it plans to focus on doing that more. The private foundation has given several million dollars worth of grants over the years. Weprin said it has given to a variety of entities, including universities, religious organizations, schools and hospitals. Some recipients include the University of Dayton, Children’s Medical Center, the YMCA and other United Way-funded human service agencies, officials said.

“I think we’ll be able to help more people in the future,” he said, noting that the foundation has given several million dollars worth of grants over the years. The foundation has taken a broad approach, giving to a variety of entities, including universities, religious organizations, schools and hospitals.

“We can do more with our funds doing it this way, making it go further,” he said.

Weprin said there are no plans to relocate the foundation.

“The foundation will continue to maintain its base of operations in the Dayton area and the foundation will continue to serve the Dayton community, just as Arthur and Jessie Beerman had envisioned more than 70 years ago when the foundation was established,” he said.

Weprin said that in recent years, churches and other organizations also have been providing Thanksgiving dinner to those less fortunate — some who “serve 300 people here and 50 people here. That mounts up and that’s great.”

Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin, who has appeared at the dinner as Mrs. Claus for the last seven or eight years, complimented the Beerman family for continuing the tradition for four decades and giving back to the community during that time.

“I’m sure it was not an easy decision,” she said.

The mayor said the dinner was something a lot of people looked forward to because it offered not only a good meal, but also plenty of fun with music and a chance for children to see Santa Claus.

“All walks of life were there,” she said. “It became a destination as well as an event to help others.”

For 40 years, it was the dinner for all.

The lowest attendance ever at the annual event was estimated at 3,200 people with an all-time record of about 8,500, according to foundation officials.

Last year, preparations were made for more than 3,500 people who were expected to gather at the Dayton Convention Center on Nov. 27.

The cooks prepared 1,200 pounds of turkey with all the traditional trimmings, as they had done every year since 1969 when Arthur Beerman started the community feast.

The founder of Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. had suffered a heart attack that year and, while hospitalized, received hundreds of cards from well-wishers.

Later, while recovering at home, he announced the dinner as his way “to thank the good Lord for letting me get home for Thanksgiving.”

But the lonely, the needy and the hungry were not far from his thoughts.

“He always felt the Dayton community was very good to him,” Kathryn Panstingel, the dinner’s event coordinator, said.

Beerman died the next year, but his family and the foundation kept the tradition going. There was a standing invitation: Anyone was welcome to the free dinner.

For many years, the catered meal was held at Wampler’s Ballarena in the Hara Arena complex. In 1988, organizers moved it to the convention center downtown to reach more people in need.

Last year, more than 500 volunteers were assigned duties for the meal. But another 2,000 people remained on a waiting list.

Panstingel said the hardest part of her job was having to turn away volunteers.

“Everyone wants to help,” she said last fall.

Olivia Dammann, 31, arrived at last year’s dinner with her three children and sister, Rebecca, 24.

They were New Orleans natives, evacuees from Hurricane Katrina, now settled in Dayton. Dammann’s three children, Adrian, 10, Colby, 9, and Chanel, 5, seemed delighted with the festivities.

The family lost their home and everything else in the 2005 disaster. The Living Word Church relocated the family.

Having a Thanksgiving Day meal with all the trimmings made things a bit easier, Dammann said.

The dinner, she said, “helps a lot of people out.”

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