By Julie ConreySpecial to The RecordMost people plan on large crowds at their homes for Thanksgiving dinner. Sandy Westhoff is no exception. She’s expecting 1,500 guests.And she promises there’s room and food for more.Westhoff’s “home” is St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Concord Hill. She is chair of the annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Dinner that will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the parish hall on Thursday, Nov. 28.The traditional sit-down dinner includes turkey, homemade dressing, sweet potatoes, gravy, breads, pickles, jellies, mashed potatoes, green beans and desserts of all kinds. The annual feast is a parish tradition that began about 80 years ago and involves the cooperation of nearly every family in the church.“All parish members are asked to help out,” said Terri Volkerding, co-chair of the St. Ignatius Parish Council. “We have a good showing of volunteers. Even the eighth-graders at the school help serve and clean up,” she said.How does the parish pull this off on the biggest family-oriented day of the year? Teamwork and planning that begins the day after the previous year’s event ensure a smooth day from start to finish, organizers say. “Parishioners cook the 63 turkeys we order in February and bring the broth so that the prep team can make gravy. Every family donates something, including desserts, sweet potatoes, or homemade breads, jellies and pickles,” Westhoff said. “We heat and serve green beans, mashed potatoes and cranberry salad on site.”“What’s so nice about this is you don’t have the mess, you don’t dirty your kitchen and you can take your desserts home and enjoy the rest of the day with your family,” Westhoff said.“It’s good food too, just like being at home. It’s great for those families who don’t have anyone who cooks and the elderly. We have families come in and celebrate their Thanksgiving (with us) year after year,” Volkerding said.Although some products for the dinner are bought from large retailers, the turkeys come from family-owned and local K & R Market, so attendees can feel good about supporting a community business.According to church history, the St. Ignatius Thanksgiving Day Turkey Dinner began in either 1929 or 1930, at the start of the Great Depression. The first dinner featured refreshments and bouillon soup, maybe because soup kitchens were so much a part of life in those days. By 1933, the event morphed into a turkey supper. Church history recalls turkeys scalded and plucked in a building near the Krausner farm. In later years turkeys were slaughtered “under the hickory tree which stood on the school grounds beside the merry-go-round or under a tree which stood behind the school.”“There’s probably two generations of families in our parish who don’t know how to cook a (Thanksgiving) turkey,” quipped Fr. Finbarr Dowling, OSB, pastor of St. Ignatius Church. “This event is one of long-standing tradition. It reminds us to be hospitable to strangers and to spread the good news,” he added. Increasingly, the parish sees people travelling from Illinois, Jefferson City, St. Louis and Washington County to enjoy the feast, Fr. Finbarr said.The dining hall seats about 150 individuals at a time. Since the dinner is first-come, first-serve, those standing in line waiting for the feast can buy tickets for a raffle, visit a country store that sells home-made baked goods and pecans, and perhaps stock up on rosaries and books for upcoming celebrations at a religious goods booth.St. Ignatius Catholic Church is located at 19125 Mill Road in Concord Hill. The dining hall is handicap accessible. Prices for the dinner are $10 adults 62 and older; $12 for adults; $5 for children ages 6 to 12; and free for children five and younger.Reservations are not accepted. Carryout is available.For more information, call the parish office at 636-932-4445.Parish’s Prodigious Thanksgiving Dinner Is 80-Year Tradition