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Holiday open house was success

Jill Darby, Tribune staff writer

Heidi Robison and her husband Rod may have started a new tradition Thursday.

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, Heidi posted fliers around town which read:

“To my community: We have room this Thanksgiving at our table for six people who would like a place to gather to enjoy a warm meal, a warm house and some grateful blessings. If you are passing through or are having some challenging times in your life now, this may be an opportunity for you. Just bring yourself and your gratitude … .”



Only one person responded to Heidi’s invitation, but she said she received numerous phone calls from community members expressing how touched they were by her gesture.

“We did get a lot of calls from people saying, ‘Oh, it’s so great what you’re doing,’ ” Heidi said Friday morning. “It really touched people, so it’s the start of something. We don’t have family here, but even if they were here, we’d open up any space we had. If we had four spaces open or one space open, we’ll let people know and they can come.”



Though only one gentleman attended the open feast, Heidi said her family, including Kendra, 9 and Sonny, 2, were pleased that someone accepted their offer.

“We just had one guy come over and actually we know him,” she said. “He came over after we were done eating, but we fixed him a nice plate and gave him his pie, and he played cards with Kendra. He works at the clubs, so he didn’t stay long, but he probably wouldn’t have done anything otherwise, so it was neat.”

Heidi explained that the six open seats at her Thanksgiving table, were not limited to only people in financial trouble.

“Anyone would have been welcome,” she said. “Maybe more people would have responded if they realized it’s not just for poor people with nowhere to go. It might be a widower or a single person who just wants some company on the holidays.”

Heidi said she thinks she and Rod have stumbled upon a yearly tradition.

“We did talk about making this a tradition,” she said. “It was really neat for my family too, even though only one person showed up. It really kept our hearts open all day.”


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