Local News
Gift of Giving to give again on Christmas Eve
SEABROOK — The anxiety of a very high-risk pregnancy isn't enough to keep Jan and Chad Luby from planning the highlight of their year: the Gift of Giving holiday meal they serve to the region's needy or lonely on Christmas Eve.
After several miscarriages, Jan Luby is holding a hopeful thought, looking forward to the birth of the couple's first child in March. But ordered to bed rest by her doctors and with Christmas fast approaching, Luby's bed has become her office, and her motto is: Have cell phone, will organize.
"I am not the type of person who likes to sit," Jan Luby said yesterday. "I still want to do the Gift of Giving; not only was it an unbelievably wonderful experience last year, but this is the kind of thinking we want to pass on to our son."
Last year was the first Gift of Giving Christmas Eve extravaganza the Lubys pulled off, with a lot of help from the region's businesses and volunteers. At the dinner held the day before Christmas at Seabrook's Old Fire Barn, the couple — with the help of scores of others — served more than 300 dinners to those in the region who found themselves alone or in financial distress.
Food wasn't the only thing served up last year, said the Lubys, who own The Butcher Shop Smokehouse Deli on Route 1 in Hampton Falls. Love was served up in large proportions, as merchants and other individuals from all over the region brought food and hundreds of gifts for the children of families in distress who attended the meal, Jan Luby said.
"You wouldn't believe the things we got," Chad Luby said. "We had gifts donated from everywhere, and they were wonderful gifts."
Last year, by 2:30 p.m., there was a line at the door, Jan Luby said.
"We had crayons and coloring sheets donated," Jan Luby said. "We used those to keep the kids occupied while we worked with their parents to put together bags of gifts people had donated. It was amazing."
The reaction of one parent stuck in their memory.
"He just wanted a jacket for his boy," Chad Luby said.
"We wanted to put together a bag of toys for the child, but he just wanted a coat for his son," Jan Luby said. "He just wanted him to be warm during the winter."
A chef with culinary degrees from Rhode Island's Johnson and Wales College, Chad Luby has served up thousands of meals in his lifetime, but last year's Gift of Giving blew him away.
"It was the most rewarding meal I've ever cooked," he said. "I'm really looking forward to this year."
Preparing to serve 500, the Lubys didn't waste a morsel of leftovers.
"We packed up everything and delivered it to Our Neighbors' Table in Amesbury," said Jan Luby. "That really pleased me, because I grew up in Amesbury. Our Neighbors' Table had enough to open up and serve a full meal. That's the thing about the Gift of Giving; it just keeps going and going."
This year, the Lubys expect the level of need could be even greater, as regional households endure the second year of a dire recession that has tens of thousands out of work.
When The Daily News reported the story of the first Gift of Giving, the outpouring of help from the region was amazing, Jan Luby said, and she's praying this year is no different, especially since she's confined to bed rest.
What do they need?
"Everything," she laughed. "And we're hoping this year people drop off donations at The Butcher Shop, here in Hampton Falls."
Needed are turkeys, hams, cream of mushroom soup, green beans and baked beans, mashed potatoes, desserts, coffee, rolls and paper products. Also needed — for the region's needy children — are new toys and new, warm outerwear: coats, jackets, mittens, scarves and hats. Getting a tree donated and the hands to put it up and decorated would also be wonderful, she said.
"And I really need loads of volunteers, because this year I can't run around," Jan Luby said. "I need volunteers for event itself, and some to help beforehand, to drive around and put up fliers. People can call me on my cell phone anytime at 617-839-7161."
Jan Luby said the Gift of Giving dinner will be served to all comers, no matter the town or state they live in, on Dec. 24, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Seabrook's Old Fire Barn on Route 286.
Volunteers are needed for the day's three shifts: set up, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; serving, from 1 to 5 p.m.; clean up, from 5 to 8 p.m.
"Working on his event, it's the best Christmas gift people will ever give themselves," Jan Luby said.
If you have story ideas regarding goodwill during the holiday season, The Daily News would like to hear from you. Contact Angel Chiaramida at 978-462-6666.
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Campground, beach closed
Guy Champagne, wife Jose and daughter Gabrielle, left, close up their camper at Salisbury Beach State Reservation, as people at the campground are ordered to leave as Hurricane Earl made its way up the Eastern Seaboard. The family, from Quebec City, Quebec, has been coming there for 30 years, and this is the second time they had to evacuate.
SALISBURY BEACH — With high winds, rains and dangerous surf expected along the coast, the state yesterday closed Salisbury Beach Reservation's popular campground and today plans to close all of Salisbury Beach for swimming and wading.
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Region set for brush with storm
NEWBURYPORT — Local and state officials spent yesterday preparing for the worst-case scenario stemming from the largest hurricane-related storm to hit the state in 20 years, which could bring 85 mph gusts to Cape Cod and flooding and tropical storm-force winds across Eastern Massachusetts.
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Island on alert for flooding, surf
PLUM ISLAND — With Hurricane Earl projected to stay off the coast of the Bay State, Newbury officials said yesterday that residents are unlikely to be evacuated from Plum Island.
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"You know, the storm track can change so be ready for anything," police Chief Michael Reilly said. -
Some events canceled, but many go on
NEWBURYPORT — Several outdoor events planned for the long holiday weekend were still scheduled to go on despite the hurricane, but two did have to be cut short.
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The Alabama, the tall ship owned by The Black Dog clothing company, departed Newburyport a day early, apologizing for the inconvenience it caused residents who had wanted to take a tour and for canceling a Governors Academy event planned for last night. The ship had been slated to stay until this morning. -
Officials urge basic precautions
New Englanders are no strangers to bad weather, but state and local officials are urging them to take precautions to make it through the possible effects of Hurricane Earl with the fewest problems.
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After decades of hurricanes, blizzards, ice storms and no shortage of nor'easters, all of which have brought down trees and wires, shutting off heat, gas, electric, and even water and sewer facilities, most know the drill. But emergency officials on both sides of the state line have issued precautionary advise to residents. - Two-day forecast
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- Heard around town
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