IPSWICH — The Masons of the John T. Heard Lodge will not spend Thanksgiving Day as most of us will, in a food-induced coma from too much turkey. Instead, they will be cooking dozens of turkeys to feed hundreds.
This is the first year the Masonic Lodge has decided to invite the community to a free Thanksgiving dinner, and they plan to make the event annual.
"We'll keep this going as long as I'm around," said Bill Yanakakis, master of the lodge.
The dinner will be available to any person who needs it, and the lodge has raised enough money to feed up to 200.
The idea was to feed people who may not have a place to go or cannot afford such an extravagant meal in these economic times.
Yanakakis said he has received a dozen or so responses to online postings from out-of-town families, who say they are too embarrassed to accept a free meal in their own town. The Masons said all of these families are more than welcome to travel to Ipswich for the celebration.
"We'll take anybody," Yanakakis said. "As long as we have food, we'll take them."
The dinner will be from noon to 3 p.m. at the John T. Heard Masonic Lodge, 70 Topsfield Road, Ipswich.
For reservations, call 978-356-6650.







