Lowell House Tutors Welcome Students to Thanksgiving Dinner

While some students were complaining about the arduous trek home to New York or the bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Massachusetts Turnpike, others did not have to go very far for an enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner.

As they have done in previous years, Lowell House resident tutors Daniel J. Ellard '86 and Penelope A. Ellard '88 hosted a dinner for 22 students, all of whom could not make it home for the holidays.

Penelope Ellard, a head teaching fellow for Computer Science 50, "Introduction to Computer Science," invited all 280 students in the course, just like her husband had done when he was a teaching fellow for the class.

"We also widened our invitations to include many other students who we knew would be around, either from previous Thanksgivings or from Lowell," Daniel Ellard said.

"Several of the guests brought friends or siblings who were visiting from other campuses as well," he added.

The entire dinner party helped prepare the meal, using the kitchen facilities of Lowell House Senior Tutor Eugene C. McAfee and Lowell House Masters Diana L. Eck and Dorothy A. Austin.

"Since tutors in Lowell generally do not have kitchens in their quarters, we combined efforts with [McAfee], who has a small kitchen in his apartment," Daniel Ellard said.

"We would not have been able to prepare such a lavish feast without the generous help of Gene and the Masters," he said. "In fact, it might be more accurate to say that Gene hosted the dinner this year, and Penny and I were just co-hosts,"

Eck passes the credit back to the tutors.

"The Ellards came over and baked pies in our kitchen on Wednesday night," said Eck, who is also Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Studies. "I gave them a key to the kitchen because we have three ovens".

The three ovens were necessary for all the food the dinner party prepared. The traditional Thanksgiving menu included turkey with stuffing and gravy, butternut squash, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, green bean casserole and four pies for dessert.

"I think it's a great idea. [The Ellards] tried to find as many people as they could through their connection to CS 50," she added. "In past years they've had six or seven students. This year they had over 20--it's wonderful".

Daniel Ellard said he hoped the time that went into preparing the meal in the week before Thanksgiving as well as the meal itself helped cement new friendships.

"It was very much a team effort, as it has been in each previous year," Ellard said. "We would not have been able to host these dinners if students didn't help out as much as they always have."

"In past years, absolute strangers have met and started long-term friendships over our Thanksgiving dinner table," he added. "We hope that the same thing has happened again this year."