A Local Thank You to Power Workers from across the Country

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In Townsend Massachusetts a local restaurant, which has never opened on Christmas Day, opened it's doors to the power workers who were still there and working in surrounding towns. "Owner Robert Dickhaut said, but there's a first time for everything. " According to a local area newspaper, Sentinel and Enterprise, the Townsend House Restaurant provided at least 100 turkey dinners with all the trimmings and desserts provided by local folks coordinated through one of the churches in town. The credit for the dessert campaign was given to St. John's Church community with a particularly strong word of mouth campaign.

"One Ashby couple at the restaurant said they brought 16 workers to the dinner themselves."

""It turned out they didn't have a place to eat," Rudy King said. "We called the restaurant, found out they were doing this, and we brought them. It's the best Christmas present I've ever given anyone."

One of the workers was quoted as saying ""You New Englanders can't drive, but you're nice people,"

Jane Baird, sister of owner Robert Dickhaut, said her family opened the restaurant at 5 a.m. Christmas morning to prepare for the dinner, but said she doesn't feel like she missed out on her own Christmas.

"We're glad to do it," she said. "We feel bad for (the line crews). They're here from all over the place and their families are back at home."

source: SentinenlandEnterprise.com