A holiday labor of love: When it comes to Christmas, Council on Aging delivers

The St. Mary Parish Council on Aging delivered 350 blankets and Christmas goodie bags filled with extra food to seniors throughout the parish this week.

This year marks the council’s 12th year of delivering additional food to seniors, said St. Mary Council on Aging Executive Director Beverly Domengeaux. The blanket drive started three years ago.

Throughout the year, the council delivers meals to seniors Monday through Friday, and that’s been ongoing for 47 years.

Domengeaux said it was necessary for the organization to provide extra meals this time of year.

“We’re closed for four days,” Domengeaux said. “And these people depend on us for their meals.”

For Morgan City resident Robert Leonard, 69, the delivery of extra food was a moment of perfect timing regarding his circumstances.

“It worked out perfect,” Leonard said. “My refrigerator went out two days ago, lost everything. That’s the way it goes.”

So in times like these, the extra meals are “a great help,” Leonard said.

Leonard retired seven years ago as an offshore cook. He also spent four years in the Navy and 44 years as a merchant marine.

A.J. “Red” Arceneaux, 93, of Morgan City, said it’s a lovely feeling, receiving a Christmas bag from the council. He’s been receiving holiday extras around three years now.

“They’ve been so good to me,” Arceneaux said. “They don’t bring nothing , I don’t eat. Let’s put it that way. Everything they bring, I eat.”

This will be Arceneaux’s first Christmas without his wife. She passed away in January. But in spite of his loss, he’s looking forward to seeing his children.

“All my children are coming here Christmas Day,” Arceneaux said.

Two of his children are traveling from Thibodaux and Lafayette. The other two children live in the city.

Arceneaux has lived his entire life in Morgan City, with the exception of his military service in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. He served from 1942 to 1946.

Arceneaux retired seven years ago as a house painter. He painted houses for 66 years.

Included in the number of deliveries were baskets delivered to seniors who have not yet qualified for the council’s regular weekly meal program, Domengeaux said.

Council on Aging delivery driver Charlette Bartholomew said, “you have to have the heart to do this kind of work.” She’s been delivering meals to seniors for 6½ years.

“You have to love your job, you have to love what you do and accept the responsibilities that come along with it,” Bartholomew said. “We work and do jobs, but sometimes we do it just to do it.

“But you have to have a heart to do this because the elderly depend upon you once you start delivering the food. They depend upon you. They look forward to you coming there. They treat you as extended family.”

The drivers become a part of the seniors’ lives.

“I love people, especially the elderly,” Bartholomew said. “I love going into their homes and making their day, just being there for them.”

These deliveries at Christmastime bring Bartholomew and Domengeaux great joy.

“It gives me awesome joy knowing that I can make someone’s Christmas through the Council on Aging,” Bartholomew said.

“I must have gotten 50 phone calls within the last couple of days from them,” Domengeaux said. “And they wanted to thank me because it made them feel like somebody cared. That’s what we’re all about, caring for them. It made me feel good.”

Many seniors feel lonely around the holidays, so the council’s gestures of giving are more meaningful to them as recipients.

“As you know, the seniors are the forgotten,” Domengeaux said. “A lot of families have deserted, moved elsewhere and left the older people here. And we’re their family. This is the time of giving and we’re going to give.”

Food items and blanket donations to the council were made possible by local Methodist churches, local leaders, organizations, foundations and St. Mary residents.