Elders enjoy weekly social in Redstone band hall

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filled with the delicious aroma of juicy fried chicken and fresh bannock. The sitting area is crowded with Elders visiting quietly while waiting for cook Agnes Case and bannock maker Yellicy Hunlin to finish last-minute preparations in the kitchen.

The Elders of Redstone have been enjoying a full-course lunch every Wednesday for six years. Alice Hunlin, social development worker for the band, initiated it with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada funding provided for the elderly and handicapped. She explained, "We were told to come up with our own idea of how to utilize it." The Elders' lunches were one suggestion.

"The Elders always came to community pot-luck dinners and enjoyed them," Alice Hunlin said. She organized a lunch program that has continued to be supported by the Elders and the community at large.

Case, who has been cooking the lunches for the last year, decides on the menu and does the grocery shopping. Her daughter, Kim Case, works with her, baking the desserts the day before and preparing the hot food on Wednesday mornings.

Eighty-two-year-old Yellicy Hunlin shows a fine community spirit by cooking traditional bannock at the community hall every week.

Speaking in soft Chilcotin,she was translated by her daughter Edna Lulua: "I enjoy cooking. I like visiting. I do it all the time."

The lunches are not only about having a good meal but they are also an important social time for the Elders.

Alice Hunlin said, "They do a lot of interacting. It is a good time for them to visit with each other and others in the community."

She said the staff from the band office attends if they are able, as well as the children and grandchildren of some of the Elders. Often there are as many as 30 people present.

"A lot of the Elders are shy and the lunch helps them get out," Case said. "Some we would never see otherwise. This way we get to visit them and tease them."

After lunch is finished some of the Elders head home while others linger in the sitting room. All are full and satisfied. Many are taking home an extra plate of food or goodies to be enjoyed later.

Case and Yellicy Hunlin make their way back to the kitchen to face the huge pile of pots and pans. The chicken, bannock, mashed potatoes, cabbage and salad were delicious; another successful lunch is behind them.

Case said she doesn't know how many other communities have an Elders' lunch on a regular basis, but she thinks it's a good idea. "It shows respect and appreciation," she said. "We gotta treat 'em good," she added with a grin.