For the past seven years, Tech. Sgt. John Gwartney has been putting the “give” into “Thanksgiving,” opening his family’s holiday table to enlisted service members stationed at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora.
“We don’t want the singles and kids to be stuck in the dorms on a holiday just because they can’t afford to go home,” said Gwartney, an intelligence analyst who has known how lonely a solitary holiday meal can be.
“When I was a young airman, someone invited me over for dinner, and it meant a lot to me,” he said.
So just before Thanksgiving 2002, Gwartney, a career military man with graying, close-cropped hair, decided to invite a few others over.
The first meal began with six or eight extra guests. Over the years, that number expanded to 25 or more. If all the children in John and Cori Gwartney’s blended family are home, that’s another six places at the table.
These days, everyone within earshot of Gwartney gets an invite.
“He invited me, along with everyone else,” said Tech. Sgt. Kenneth Lebleu, who will be making his third trip to the Gwartney family spread. “He invites by word of mouth and an e-mail to everyone at work.”
This year, the children all will be with their other parents, but the Gwartneys’ home near Southlands mall still will teem with people.
“We always have a full house,” Cori says.
Most of the cooking is done by Colin Larson, a family friend.
The Gwartneys stock up on turkeys and hams on sale throughout the year. They keep two freezers full of meat for these holiday meals, and purchase many seasonal nonperishables during post-holiday sales.
This year, after Cori Gwartney was laid off from her job with Qwest, the couple gladly accepted a box of canned and boxed food from Fill the Mayflower, a food drive sponsored by the military-support nonprofit Homefront Heroes.
The box included cranberry sauce, canned sweet potatoes, dehydrated potatoes and a small bag of russet potatoes, canned green beans and supplies for a pie.
“With this many people, every little bit helps,” Cori Gwartney said.
“Some people bring a dessert or wine, or whatever,” she said. “My parents usually bring a green-bean casserole. Nothing too extravagant, although one year, we did have a turducken.”
Lebleu and his wife will be bringing a dessert “just to be neighborly.”
If they weren’t headed to the Gwartneys’ big feed, the Lebleus, who live on base, would probably be hanging out at home alone.
“It’s just a lot of people sitting around talking, watching football, eating a good meal,” Lebleu said.
Today, guests will start arriving about 1 p.m., beginning a steady stream of company until well after 6 p.m.
“It’s like having family over,” John Gwartney said. “These people are my extended family.”
Claire Martin: 303-954-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com