Jack Paulishen Photo
“She was one of those quiet heroes that we have all across America. They’re not famous. Their names are not in newspapers, but each and every day they work hard. They aren’t seeking the limelight. All they try to do is just do the right thing.”
—President Obama remembering grandmother Madelyn Dunham.
At 6:30 a.m., I’m shoveling the mound of snow pushed in front of my driveway so I can go meet Herb Turner. “There is no way this guy is going to be there,” I thought to myself. “We just got 20 inches, the streets are barely passable, it’s 20 degrees out, and he’s 79 years old!”
After I clear the snow I’m on my way to Rosette Street in the Hill section of New Haven to meet Turner. This morning, as on every other weekday morning for the last nine years, Herb will be cooking breakfast at the Amistad Catholic Worker House. He’ll arrive 10 minutes or so before 7, put on a pot of coffee and begin preparing a free breakfast for the neighborhood people who rely on the Worker House for a warm meal and even warmer friendships.
On this particular morning, I find that Herb did make it in. As I enter the kitchen I am welcomed by the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and oatmeal hot off the stove. At the kitchen table is one person enjoying breakfast who is quickly joined by three others. By the end of my two-hour stay at least eight people have stopped by for breakfast.
“I never know how many people I’ll serve on any given day,” said the gentlemanly cook. “I definitely see an increase in the number of people as the month goes on. By the last week, many people’s money has run out and they really need us then.”
Herb went on to tell me that he used to cook for a large number of people who lived nearby in a tent city who would rely on the Catholic Worker House for meals and bathing facilities. The tent city was removed by the city; he wonders how those who were displaced are getting along. He also told me about a man who lived behind a commercial building on the Boulevard in a tent. One day Herb took it upon himself to bring the man a mattress to sleep on. It was then that I really started to appreciate just how generous Herb is.
One man of about 40 years old enters and exchanges pleasantries with the other diners. I asked him what he thinks about Herb.
“I’ve been coming here for 15 years. Longer than Herb has,” the man said, as he and Herb shared a laugh. “He’s real good people, real good people.”
I wondered what makes a person get up early every morning to volunteer to cook for others. Herb said it started with his upbringing in Canton, Ohio. During his childhood people reached out to his family, including teachers who would provide them with donated clothes.
On two occasions other people literally saved his life. Once he was hit by a car, rescued and nursed back to health by neighbors in Canton. Another time he fell through ice into a freezing creek and his friends pulled him to safety. “There are so many people who have helped me in my life…this is a way for me to carry it on.” he said.
Another strong influence on his interest in helping others was his father. One of 14 children, Herb had a father who not only worked in a steel plant, but also had a farm which he used to feed his large family. His father would sell eggs, but always gave them away to the elderly or others in need. It was not surprising then to find out that during the warmer months Herb also tends the community garden just a few lots down from the Catholic Worker House.
I asked him what he does with all the food from the garden. “We use some of it here at the house and the rest I just give to people in the neighborhood,” he responded. Like father, like son.
Of all the places Herb could have volunteered his time, why the Catholic Worker House? Herb is not Catholic. He was raised Baptist, attended an Amish Sunday School as a child and although not a member of any specific church now, does considers himself religious.
The answer lies in his battle with cancer.
“When I got cancer, it was people from the Catholic Worker House that visited me in the hospital, gave me supplies that I needed, helped feed me. When my health returned, I volunteered to cook at the house.” a grateful and reflective Turner said.
At 79 years old this quiet hero has no plans to slow down. Cooking gives him purpose, gets him connected to the people around him. Besides, there are just too many people to feed.
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