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Community

Thanksgiving Community Dinner

WVIK Staff

Despite major changes, SouthPark Mall in Moline will still be the site for this year's annual community dinner hosted by Mr. Thanksgiving. Today Bob Vogelbaugh invited everyone to his Thanksgiving feast, which will be held where the Old Navy store used to be. He also requested donations to help pay for the huge meal.
This is Vogelbaugh's 44th year hosting the holiday dinner. But, he says it took until last spring for him to realize this is his calling. 

Vogelbaugh earned the title of Mr. Thanksgiving when he first invited some customers of his grocery store to eat with him so they wouldn't be alone. 32 years ago, the dinner moved to SouthPark Mall, where nearly three thousand people now celebrate the holiday each year. 

Vogelbaugh says the event is possible because of donations and volunteers. 

MRTHANKS2.mp3
They've helped us reach year 44.

This year, 400 volunteers will help serve 27-hundred pounds of turkey. But, Vogelbaugh says he still needs ten thousand dollars to pay for all the food. 

Dinner will be served Thanksgiving Day from 4 until 6:30 pm. Metro Link will offer free rides to the mall, but reservations are necessary. 

A native of Detroit, Herb Trix began his radio career as a country-western disc jockey in Roswell, New Mexico (“KRSY, your superkicker in the Pecos Valley”), in 1978. After a stint at an oldies station in Topeka, Kansas (imagine getting paid to play “Louie Louie” and “Great Balls of Fire”), he wormed his way into news, first in Topeka, and then in Freeport Illinois.