GIVING THANKS THROUGH GRIEF
In Uvalde, longtime holiday event continues spirit of service
UVALDE – The annual “Luv Ya Uvalde” Thanksgiving meal for hundreds of people almost ended in its 38th year.
When the Cazares family lost Jacklyn, their 9-year-old, and the Hernandez family lost Annabell Rodriguez, 10, in the Robb Elementary School shooting, their lives were upended for months by grief and activism. Putting on the traditional community meal seemed like the last thing they had time for.
But just three weeks ago, they realized that Jacklyn would’ve been “so upset” if the event didn’t go on, said Polly Flores, Jacklyn’s aunt and Annabell’s great aunt.
Flores worked on the dinner every year. So did her niece.
“Jackie was born into this. She was really involved,” Flores said. “She was always excited every year about it. We felt bad, like we were letting her down and the community down.”
“She would do the deboning of the turkeys, she would help with decorations on the table, she would help out with the dessert table, give out cookies and coffee to the elderly,” Flores said.
At 10 a.m., volunteers piled more than 300 togo plates with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, bread and pumpkin pie, then delivered them to homebound residents.
At 11 a.m., they began serving the crowd at tables in the large room at the Uvalde County Fair
plex. There were more than 400 seats set up, with tablecloths, plastic turkey centerpieces and a small bowl of cranberry sauce on each.
Only about 150 chairs were filled this year, which volunteers and attendees attributed to dreary and wet weather, the pandemic’s recent limitations, the shortened prep time to advertise it, and the fracturing of the community in the aftermath of the May 24 tragedy.
“This is the least full I’ve ever seen this room,” said April Taylor, a longtime volunteer. “Last year all those tables in the back were all full.”
Taylor and her family have come out to work on Luv Ya Uvalde for five or six years. She lives in Fort Worth, but her father is from Uvalde, and they came back each year for the holiday.
“I don’t know if people are afraid and are more cautious or maybe because this is the first holiday that they are experiencing the pain. Maybe it is too painful to be here,” Taylor said.
“There is never media here, ever,” Taylor added. “I noticed that as soon as I walked in, there was someone with a camera. Usually, it is unsung heroes. People aren’t doing this for media attention.”
The event was started in 1983 by Tommy and Pat Flores to serve senior citizens of Uvalde and surrounding towns a Thanksgiving dinner. In 2010, Leticia Hernandez and her family took over and opened it up to the entire community.
“It is stressful. Especially this year, we weren’t prepared,” said Hernandez, the president of the Luv Ya Uvalde organization and another of Jacklyn’s aunts.
“Jackie would’ve wanted this, so we went ahead and did it but we were super behind. But it is coming together,” she said.
Most years, the organization hosts fundraisers like bake sales and car washes to raise money for the event. Luckily, a Tiktok influencer who is originally from Uvalde, Evy, donated enough money to buy all 50 turkeys. H-E-B donated enough to cover the rest of the food costs. Other sponsors included the Uvalde Leader-news, Medina Electric and DKM Enterprises.
Last year, the organization served almost 1,500 meals via drive-thru pick up or delivery. This year was the first in-person event since the pandemic arrived.
“I think it is a good thing, because it is going to give us time
“It feels great to be here. It’s humbling. We came in support of all the families who lost their children. It is tough times, but at least we can all come together.” Tamara Martinez, whose nephew Xavier Lopez, 10, died in the shooting
to reflect on everybody else instead of just ourselves and what we are going through,” said David Hernandez, who lives in Hondo and works at Joint Base San Antonio-lackland. “That’s why I’m glad we are having it.”
At the front of the room, a
stage was set up decorated with orange and yellow balloons. Photos of Jacklyn, Annabell and Eliahna Garcia, 9, and a board displayed the names of all 19 children and two teachers killed in the attack.
Every 30 minutes Leticia
Hernandez would come to the microphone, turn down the mariachi music and announce raffle winners, who walked away with donated blankets, stuffed animals and perfume.
For the families behind the event, it was a difficult but necessary way to honor their children.
“It’s horrible,” Flores said about prepping the turkeys the night before without Jacklyn there to help. “We’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster. I don’t hate anyone, I’m just mad and upset. I find myself mad at the whole world. I’ll snap at people, we all snap at people, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God’ — I catch myself. I need to stop being hateful. But there’s just so much anger.
“We are missing them. It is just getting harder and harder. Instead of getting easier, it is just getting harder,” Flores added. “I don’t know, we are just missing her more as the time goes by.”
But despite the smaller crowd, many were thankful the dinner hadn’t become another casualty of Uvalde’s terrible 2022.
“It’s good to have events like these to pull the community together,” said Tom Garcia, a firsttime volunteer. “We need it. With everything going on and all the division.”
“It feels great to be here. It’s humbling,” said Tamara Martinez, whose nephew Xavier Lopez, 10, died in the shooting. “We came in support of all the families who lost their children. It is tough times, but at least we can all come together.”