In September 2023

Three ex-military men barbecued meat all night long the day before Christmas eve this year. The three were Mike Stuart, Mike Lee and Clifton Trusty.

The homemade barbecue pit they’d put together themselves was located at the J. E. Manning American Legion post building.

The three had 12 to 13 turkeys and hams to prepare for the Post’s unique Christmas dinner delivery effort now several years old.

The Legionnaires were joined by the Trammel’s Trace Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and East Texas Republican Women. The women had prepared and were were ready to deliver Christmas dinners to some 80 people this day.

But it was the military operation of cooking the meat for everyone that was the goal of the three veterans. It had to get done … even if it were going take all night that Dec. 23. And it did. It rained bit, too. Mike Stuart had to hold an umbrella over the meat at one point. Mike Lee even took a fall near the pit itself. But the mission was accomplished. The three barbecuers wouldn’t even take a compliment.

Their reward? “The reward is the delivery,” the three said. “We’d already been told. If not for our delivery, these families were not going to have a Christmas dinner. So there was no choice. There was no choice for our American Legion Post 258.”

Behind this story is the observation that Atlanta’s J. E. Manning American Legion post is one of the most active in this region. Mike Lee says it’s “the” most active.

“We’ve always got something going on, trying to serve,” Lee said. “Thanksgiving several years ago we started raffling three donated turkeys and made a lot of money to help others. It made me think, if we could just get more turkeys, we could have turkeys as Christmas gifts for the needy.”

The men tried it and then asked the DAR and Republican Women to help with the side dishes of food.

“Things just started coming in. All the trimmings for a complete dinner. You should have seen these tables filled with food and people ready to deliver.”

Christmas dinners were now becoming full family boxes prepared for 10 to 13 families and enough food for several meals.

“We’d gotten names from the Home Health Services,” Lee said. “They know deserving people.”

The home health services were excited, too. They joined in. Lee and Gary Richardson decided this year to build a barbecue pit outside the legion’s building. That was when the military side of this team kicked in. A mission was called for.

“I like to barbecue, prepare food,” Lee said as he gathered cement blocks, barrels, wood and donated food, the the three started barbecuing on this Friday night.

By about 5 a.m., they’d finished and had time to go home, shower, catch an hour’s sleep before getting back to the post hall for the filling of boxes and delivering. It was all done by noon.

The three nor anyone else on this day made additional comment except to say they were happy to work together. The look on the faces of recipients’ faces was enough.

“Mission accomplished. We make do,” the three said.

On a sidenote - The Trammel’s Trace Chapter DAR and East Texas Republican Women impacted 80 people this day with the delivery of Christmas dinners, according to Kay Burton, president of the ETRW “Our members had signed on to prepare this food. They gave 12 to 15 pies and many side dishes that could serve individuals or whole families. We enjoy working with the legion in community service,” Burton said.