PRESQUE ISLE – “More squash, coming through,” Bill Davis, the exalted ruler of the Presque Isle Elks Club, called out Monday, pressing his back against the wall while clutching a vat of steaming winter squash so a waitress could scoot by him.

“Just in time,” said another member of the club, picking up an empty container of the vegetable with his puffy oven mitts before swapping it for the full vat. “Everyone is sitting out there drooling.”

On this day, “everyone” constituted the more than 130 people who crowded into the Main Street lodge for the organization’s second annual community Christmas dinner. More than 50 volunteers, a mixture of both Elks Club members and those who are not affiliated with the lodge, set aside their day to serve a traditional turkey dinner to anyone who wanted to partake of it.

Propelled by Elks Club member Dana Dickinson and his wife, Mary, the organization spent several months gathering food and gifts and preparing for the start of Monday’s event.

The goal of the event was to get people who usually spend Christmas alone to come and share it with others, and anyone was welcome to join the festivities.

As part of the event, the lodge sent invitations and compiled a list of respondents who planned to attend. Those who could not find a ride were shuttled to the lodge by Caribou-based Luxury Limos, which donated two white limousines to carry guests to the fete.

A portion of Main Street was blocked off Monday afternoon allowing the limousines, adorned with red and green bows, to chauffeur the guests to the front door of the club.

Inside, Mary Dickinson greeted diners in a resplendent Mrs. Santa Claus outfit, while most of the other club members and volunteers wore Santa hats or had bells dangling from their necks.

A band played a variety of songs from a stage in the corner of the dining room, and everyone there received a gift.

All the guests were in the building by 12:30 p.m., sipping soup or eating salad at festively set tables before being served heaping plates of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and other dishes by the wait staff.

“This is the best dinner I have had in years,” said one elderly Presque Isle woman, who said she was attending the dinner for the first time with a friend. “I knew this would be nice, but I never expected all of this. It’s just wonderful.”

After a blessing was offered, the guests sang a round of “God Bless America” and observed a moment of silence in honor of Cpl. Dustin J. Libby, a Castle Hill resident and member of the U.S. Marine Corps who was killed in Iraq earlier this month.

Taking a break from shuttling food from the kitchen to the serving area, Bill Davis said he was pleased with the success of this year’s dinner.

“We’ve spent two days just getting the food ready to be cooked, and everyone has worked so hard,” he said. “The local support from all of the businesses and organizations has just been tremendous.”

Davis said he believes that the best part of the event is that it was open to everyone.

“It doesn’t matter what your economic condition, you’re welcome to be here,” he noted. “And we’ve got a good crowd and everyone is having a great time. … I can’t wait until next year.”