Local woman cooks with kindness
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POLSON — In a sparkly blue shirt and a matching Santa Claus apron, Patsy Orr bustles around the kitchen at the Flathead Indian Senior Citizens Center preparing dishes for the that day’s Christmas dinner. With a big pot of spuds on to boil, Orr starts preparing deviled eggs and then it’s on to cooking the spiral ham, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, three kinds of salad and rolls. Never mind that there’s also coffee, tea, juice and water to have ready by the 11:30 a.m. meal.
It’s always a guessing game for Orr, because adding to the morning’s amazing menu of activities is the fact that she never knows how many people will show up. Normally she has 30 to 45 people at the Polson center, but this day Christmas dinner is served and 62 people ended up coming in for the good food and company.
“I was up here until about 6 p.m. last night,” Orr said; indicating her work putting up the center’s decorations of reindeer, jingle bells, and Santa in a sleigh. She even added Christmas napkins and candy canes to further brighten up the dining room.
Orr cooks at the Ronan Indian Senior Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then at the Polson center on Wednesdays and Fridays. She’s been on the job for 13 years in Polson and for the last four years in Ronan and before that she worked at the Indian Senior Center in Hot Springs for seven years. Hot Springs’ seniors come over for lunch one day a month to visit Orr and shop at Super 1 Foods and Walmart.
“I like older people,” Orr said, “Otherwise I wouldn’t be here.”
Orr’s day begins at about 6 a.m. when she goes to Super 1 Foods to do her shopping and she’s usually at the center by 7 a.m. to start lunch.
She doesn’t “use anything out of a box.”
Surprisingly, liver and onions is a favorite lunch at the center, but then so is Orr’s meatloaf.
“I put bacon on top of my meatloaf,” Orr said.
Most of the time she underrates her cooking, saying things like “As long as it’s food, they’ll eat it,” but several of her long-term customers disagree.
Riggie Schweigert said Orr’s a good cook.
When he lost his wife several years ago, he had to learn to cook for himself. He claims that even by purchasing inexpensive food he’d be hard pressed to make himself a good meal for $3. He eats in Polson two days a week and goes to lunch in Ronan the other two days of the week.
“I’m plumb happy about this,” Schweigert said.
“We haven’t had a bad meal here,” Karen Amundson said. “I wish it was open every day.”
“Patsy’s a good cook,” Chick Webb said. “I like to come here.”
And it’s not just that Orr’s a good cook. Diane Alderdice explained that on Halloween and Thanksgiving, Orr passes out little individual goodies to the seniors with money from her own pocket.
“She’s the best,” Alderdice said. “(The center) is like family.”
Sonny Martinez said he comes to the center a lot to visit Orr and help out.
“I love her company and her sense of humor,” he said. “If anyone would like to get in the holiday spirit, come see Patsy.”
