Peter Klein loved Christmas as a child.

Tuesday, December 26, 2000

Peter Klein loved Christmas as a child.

When he grew up, he thought it was too commercialized.

When he died, his family decided they would show their love for the young man at Christmastime.

And so the Peter Klein memorial Christmas dinner was planned three years ago.

"He enjoyed Christmas when he was a little boy, just like any other child would. When he got older, he thought the family get-togethers were fun, but he thought the entire celebration had become too commercialized. I don’t know what he would think of it now," said his mother, Gladys (Mrs. Charles) Bliss.

Her son died in June 1998 of an unfortunate all-terrain vehicle accident. He was one of those "golden child" kind of persons, who enjoyed the friendship of many.

For the last two years, his survivors have served Christmas dinner at their own expense to strangers.

"It’s become a tradition in the family in just a short while," said Bliss. "Beginning in the summer, when we get together, the grandchildren start asking if we’re going to serve Christmas dinner again. They really enjoy it," said Bliss.

This year’s dinner will be served Dec. 25, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mower County Senior Citizens Center in downtown Austin.

According to Bliss, a traditional Christmas dinner will be served, including turkey and ham, potatoes, vegetables, rolls, coffee or milk and dessert.

The Klein and Bliss families will provide everything and do the meal preparation, serving and clean-up.

To ensure there is enough of everything, the hosts ask anyone planning to attend to call the Senior Citizens Center at 433-2370 or 437-1700 by Friday to make a reservation.

No one is turned away, who drops in on Christmas Day, but to ensure enough food to feed everyone, the advance reservations are needed.

This year, the most popular holiday of the year is on a Monday, which means there cold be some family and other celebrations taking place Saturday or Sunday.

"We know people have other places to go and that’s fine, but even if they celebrate Christmas on Saturday or Sunday, we don’t want them to be alone on Christmas Day," said Bliss.