POULSBO — Though he’s been retired for nearly 10 years now, Gordon Stenman was back at Red Apple Tuesday morning bagging groceries.
The former store manager said he always returns one special morning each year — and for one very special reason.
“Community service,” he said with a wide grin. “It’s a great project and it’s fun to come back to the store.”
Just days before the Christmas holiday Dec. 21, members of the Poulsbo Noon Lions jammed Little Norway’s three grocery stores on a mission for the community. In a matter of a few hours, they had picked out all the fixings for a total of 78 Christmas food baskets for Fishline Food Bank, which were distributed to North Kitsap residents in need this week.
The event is a Christmas tradition for the 62-year-old service club and dozens of its members turn out each year to pitch in. Three generations of the Armstrong family made the annual shopping trip this year as Herb and Elda Armstrong were joined by their daughter Ann and infant granddaughter Corinna. Herb and Elda estimate that they’ve been participating in the event for about 30 years.
“It’s Herb’s favorite shopping day of the year,” Elda said with a laugh.
The baskets include all of the fixings for a family dinner including rolls, potatoes, yams, stuffing, pie crust and filling and a turkey or ham. But Herb pointed to a shopping cart he’d filled for one family and to a special surprise he also includes in every order — a can of Dinty Moore Stew. The Lion has been including the treasure in each and every basket he packs for so many years that as checker Kristan Stenman scanned a can, she remarked, “Must be one of Herb’s baskets.”
“That’s my signature,” Herb said with a grin. “That’s how you know you got a basket from Herb.”
Though the Lions do the tedious work of making sure each and every one of the boxes has the right ingredients, organizer Jim Schoettler said the event would not be possible without the help of the managers and employees of each of the Poulsbo stores. All three locations help by setting out basket staples in easy-to-find areas, helping box up the orders and even adding a little holiday cheer to the festivities. Wearing a bright, Christmasy sweater, Kristan Stenman was all smiles ringing up orders as her father, Gordon Stenman, boxed them at the same cash register.
“I’ve done this for years,” she said. “I started working here when I was 14 and it’s great to be working side by side with him again. I love this event. I look forward to this time of year.”
