Ann Maas is a math teacher at Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha – but she’s also pretty familiar with the kitchen there.
“Oh, it’s still warm,” she says, opening an oven. “We’ll have probably two on top and two on the bottom. And usually, they come out really nice in this one, they come out really nice.”
She’s talking about turkeys – and this week, she cooked a dozen of them. Plus sides! It’s all the Community Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by the school.
“We line up everything – the turkey, the stuffing, sweet and mashed potatoes, and then the veggies,” Ann says. “And I usually use a crockpot to put the gravy in.”
Ann and her husband Tony took this project over from the Franciscan Sisters of Charity 34 years ago.
“So yes, every year since starting here in 1990,” Tony says.
Over the years, the number of guests has ballooned from 75 to 250.
“It’s a free meal,” Tony says. “They can come whether it’s the elderly who just need a place to come. It can be the needy, if they’re living on the streets or using the meal programs or that kind of thing. So we have a whole variety of people that come in.”
Students in the Service Club help plan the logistics and even come in to help prepare the food. Ann says it’s a great learning opportunity.
“When I say, ‘oh yeah, we’re keeping that because it’s got the gizzards and the heart and etcetera,’ and they’re just looking at me like ‘what are you doing, lady?’” Ann recalls. “But, yeah, they end up enjoying it because I’ll sometimes give them a taste of it later on.”
But Tony and Ann admit – a lot of the work falls on them.
“Right now, we are pretty much the only people on the day of who make sure everything runs smoothly. We know how all the pieces fit together and how to make that happen,” Tony says. “It’s a long day. We’re usually here by 7 or 7:30 a.m. when the kitchen opens up.”
“And then we don’t leave til about 7:30 again!” Ann adds.
They say it’s a lot of sweat and sore feet, but they’re living out the Catholic Memorial motto – Caritas in Omnibus.
“Charity in all things – being able to do something for others, you receive more than you give!” Tony says.
“I’m never looking for what I get out of it, I just know that I’m helping others and that to me is very important,” says Ann. “I always believe that God puts me in certain places for a reason and that’s one of them.”
But, Tony and Ann say they’re getting close to retirement – which means they’ll need to find their own replacements.
“When it comes to an heir, I really think that’s going to happen just kind of naturally,” Tony says.
“I hope so!” Ann chimes in.
“I do, because the excitement that comes from the people who help, you can just see. Somebody is going to jump in and say ‘Oh yeah, we want to keep this going.’ I really think that will happen.”
But in the meantime, these two are happy to keep doing the work, hand in hand.
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