Norma Jean's hosts Christmas dinner

“Sometimes good things fall apart so that better things can fall together.” – Marilyn Monroe

THUNDER BAY – It has been more than 20 years since Jeannie Rempel worked in the kitchen at Norma Jean’s but when she heard the 1950s-styled diner was planning to host a Christmas dinner for those in need, she rolled up her sleeves and went back into the dish pit.

The restaurant’s Facebook page mobilized food, gifts for the children and more volunteers than Saturday’s meal could support. Although Rempel has volunteered around Christmas time in other years, this year was a homecoming of the heart.

“For me, it’s important because my brother used a lot of agencies in Toronto and to me, I attribute him being alive to people that helped out other people who needed it so it’s very personal,” she said.

“Not everybody is going to have the Christmas that I’m going to possibly have or that everybody in the kitchen are going to have. It’s nice to see others have food and break bread together.”

It was the first Christmas of breaking bread for Norma Jean’s new owner, Sean Held and his family, who bought the classic local restaurant in February.

For eight days, the entire family has been wrapping gifts, peeling 200 lbs of potatoes, slicing 80 loaves of bread and cooking 12 turkeys for the nearly 300 people who stood in the lineup that reached out the door onto the May Street sidewalk.

They made an extra effort to reach out to the clients of Shelter House down the street, hoping they could make an impact on those with the greatest need.

“Looking at the community, there’s not a lot of people who can afford a nice dinner or toy. We just figured, ‘let’s give back to Thunder Bay,’” he said.

“It gives you a sense of a little bit of pride in your community that you can actually do something to help people.”