Servo Thanksgiving is among the many Gettysburg College traditions connecting Gettysburgians past and present. Over the decades, the event has continued to build family within the College community.
At Gettysburg College, our traditions, including Servo Thanksgiving, demonstrate the community spirit of our College and how our shared values unite us.
Every fall, Servo Thanksgiving is a beloved celebration of food, fun, and friendship. For close to four decades, Gettysburgians have gathered with classmates, roommates, and teammates at Servo, the College’s Dining Center, to enjoy a full Thanksgiving dinner. The feast features roasted turkeys, mashed potatoes, stuffing, side dishes, and pumpkin pie, all prepared by Dining Services and served to students by faculty and staff.
From the 20th century into the 21st century, the Servo Thanksgiving tradition reflects all that we embody at Gettysburg, transcending time with tradition. It’s an opportunity to grow in our knowledge and skills together, an openness to learning from each other as we embrace diverse perspectives and backgrounds, and a desire to celebrate with a campus family unlike any other.
Explore the history of Servo Thanksgiving at Gettysburg College.
The 1980s: Setting the scene for social events
History Prof. Michael Birkner ’72, P’10 remembers observing the Servo Thanksgiving celebration when he returned to teach at his alma mater in 1989. He is one of many faculty members who have volunteered to serve the Thanksgiving dinner to students over the years. Birkner believes the support for hosting a special meal for students may have likely started during the presidential term of Charles E. Glassick.
In his 2002 pamphlet, “The Presidency of Charles E. Glassick, 1977-1989: An Appraisal,” Glassick can be seen in a photo (above) serving students at an event in the Lyceum inside Pennsylvania Hall midway through his presidency.
“Glassick was big on social events, and it makes sense to me that he would have in some way been involved,” said Birkner.
The 1990s: Food, family, and service
Another Gettysburgian who supported the development of Servo Thanksgiving is a man who devoted 35 years of his life to serving students: John “Jack” Myers. In 1978, Myers accepted a position with Servomation (later renamed Service America), an external firm that provided food services to Gettysburg College. When Gettysburg brought its student dining operations in house in 1991, the College hired Myers to become its director of Dining Services. During his career at Gettysburg, Myers made sure that students were not only fed but also that they felt part of their Gettysburg family through the meals they shared.
Along with Myers, Dennis Murphy, an assistant dean who served at Gettysburg College from 1990 to 2004, was also a proponent of finding opportunities to unite the campus community. Murphy remembered a family-style Thanksgiving dinner served to students from a previous academic institution he worked at. He brought the idea to Myers, the seed of which would eventually become the Servo Thanksgiving celebration. To help the Dining Services staff pull off the event, Myers asked for faculty and staff volunteers to help serve the meal in the College’s Dining Center, affectionately referred to by generations of Gettysburgians as Servo.
Myers’ wife Grace, who worked in several departments at Gettysburg over her 25 years of service to the College, was one of the many faculty and staff who regularly volunteered.
“The students were always so grateful,” she said.
By the mid-1990s, the College’s family-style Thanksgiving celebration had become a much-anticipated event of the academic year for students, a tradition that has endured at Gettysburg.
In an article in the Nov. 20, 1997, edition of The Gettysburgian, staff writer Cara Masucci ’01 noted, “The dinner itself, which has been going on for fifteen years, according to John Myers, of the dining services, seems to be a tradition that has been left unchanged. However, it was discontinued several years ago and only resurrected once again in 1992.”
The 2000s: An era for feasting with friends
Even today, countless alumni speak fondly of celebrating Servo Thanksgiving feasts with the greater College community.
“I loved the tradition of Servo Thanksgiving, and it spawned many a ‘Friendsgiving’ after graduation,” said Melissa Kiehl ’00. We all loved seeing professors and staff of the College serving students. The food was delicious, and we all think about it every year.”
“Servo Thanksgiving dinner is such a wonderful celebration for students to enjoy a full turkey and all the sides together. As a student from North Carolina, it was too far for me to go home for Thanksgiving, so having dinner with my friends at Servo really made Gettysburg College feel like home. I think it’s one of the best traditions at the College, and it emphasizes the community that is built among the students, staff, and faculty,” said Health Sciences Prof. Megan Benka-Coker ’09.
The 2010s: Building lifelong bonds
English Prof. Matt Barrett ’11 is one of many Gettysburg faculty and staff members who enjoyed Servo Thanksgiving as students and now get to participate in making the event possible each year.
“There aren’t many traditions that capture Gettysburg College’s sense of community quite like Servo Thanksgiving. I remember, as a freshman, first seeing the line of students trail down the street—and promising myself I’d never arrive with only 10 minutes before it began,” Barrett said. “As a faculty member, that’s part of what I love about it now: seeing students gather in line, no matter the weather, how everyone takes turns, how when someone in line has class, one of their friends fills in for them to keep their spot. Everyone there—including the faculty and staff serving students meals—volunteers their time to be a part of this celebration together.
“As a student, certain professors inevitably intimidate you, but when you see them wearing aprons, bringing your table an entire turkey, there’s a sense of connection. It’s another reminder that at Gettysburg, students aren’t a number. When everyone’s gathered together, passing each other mashed potatoes and stuffing—there’s a sense of home, which probably has a lot to do with why my family always wanted to come back. Events like these let you know that you belong.”
Servo Thanksgiving has also inspired alumni to continue the tradition with “Friendsgiving” celebrations of their own.
“Everyone knows Servo Thanksgiving, so whether you graduated a year ago or a decade ago, there is an immediate bond across generations of alumni. It’s inspired many of us graduates to host a yearly ‘Friendsgiving,’ and I’m lucky that every year since graduating, I’ve had a ‘Friendsgiving’ with fellow Bullets. Now the hard part is deciding which side is going to allow you to compete with Servo cookies and grant you bragging rights,” said Harry Fones ’15.
“The best Servo Thanksgiving was my sophomore year when my hallmates from freshman year got together and celebrated together,” said Jess Hubert ’18. It meant a lot to me that we could get homestyle cooking on campus for Thanksgiving, especially since some students could not easily go home to celebrate with their families.”
The 2020s: New traditions within the tradition
Over the decades, Servo Thanksgiving has evolved to include traditions within the larger tradition among students and staff. Every year, students wait with great anticipation in line outside the Dining Center for hours before sitting at their tables so they can enjoy all the foods of the Thanksgiving feast. College offices create personalized kitchen aprons for their volunteers who serve students dinner during the evening. In 2023, the Center for Student Success and the Office of Residential Education also began a new tradition, working with Dining Services to offer a complementary sensory-friendly version of Servo Thanksgiving.
Director of Dining Services Deb Hydock estimates approximately 1,500 students are served each year. Even amid the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, members of our community demonstrated the enduring skills of adaptability and creativity to create a modified celebration for students.
“Coming from a family that is very relaxed about holidays, I was overjoyed to learn about Gettysburg’s Servo Thanksgiving tradition and the excitement around such a unifying experience at the College,” said Alyssa Kaewwilai ’20. There is something truly special about attending a small school where you are known as an individual rather than just a number. One of my favorite things about Gettysburg is that you are part of a greater community while simultaneously representing yourself. It really is icing on the cake to be able to sit down, relax, and enjoy a delicious homestyle Thanksgiving dinner with your closest friends before embarking on our separate journeys home for the holiday break.”
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By Michael Vyskocil
Writing contributions provided by Katie Lauriello ’25
Alumni profile photos provided by sources
Posted: 11/12/24