During my photographic travels, I’ve shared more than one holiday meal with strangers. As a Valley News intern, I was happy to cover Thanksgiving in November because I didn’t have any plans of my own, so hanging out with a new group of friends I’d never met seemed like a fun opportunity.
It’s always a bit awkward to arrive, camera in hand, to intrude on a group of people, but within a few minutes of arriving at VFW Post 2571 in White River Junction, the folks working in the kitchen had made me feel at home with jokes and teasing and honest, caring questions as they tried to get to know me.
I declined to help cut the turkey, but had some fun trying to catch photographic evidence of the cook sneaking a few nibbles while he worked. And I passed on the opportunity to help wash dishes — I didn’t want to risk getting my camera wet!
I met ordinary people who were working on the holiday, only they were volunteering to make sure less fortunate souls would have a warm meal and companionship. As the doors opened and the dinner began, someone said a prayer. I was anticipating there might be lots of cute little kids and young, hopeful families. But there weren’t cute little kids.
Mostly I saw older people, some alone, some in pairs, but no big families like Norman Rockwell painted. One couple caught my eye, so I started to watch them. I think they reminded me of my grandparents; or maybe a Norman Rockwell version of how I remembered my grandparents.
Marie Dauphinais, of Lebanon, was just plain grandmotherly, while her husband, Eugene, did bear a resemblance to my great-grandfather, the stereotypical Yankee. I took a few photos of them while they assembled dinner, then we chatted a few minutes. He told me that the next day was their 61st wedding anniversary. They were out for dinner, on a date! I knew that was my photo. I stayed for another half hour, took a few more photos, socialized with some people who lived near me but I’d never met. But I knew the photo of Marie and Eugene was my pick. My favorite photographer, Gordon Converse, once said that photojournalism should “injure no man, but bless all mankind” and once in a while, the stars line up for me to take a photo that I hope lives up to that goal. I hope that readers of the paper got a smile from my photo, and that the Dauphinaises had a happy anniversary.
— Rick Russell