Plates of turkey and pie were passed around Thursday at the Kenai Senior Center as roughly 200 gathered for the Old Timer’s Luncheon, an annual event making its return for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kathy Romain, the center’s director, said before food was served that the event started “at least 35 years ago” as a group of homesteading women who would get together once a week. Over time, that gathering outgrew its space and moved to the center as the annual Homesteader’s Luncheon.

“Some of you are old-timers and you never homesteaded, so we changed it to the Old Timer’s Luncheon,” she said.

Peggy Arness, who started the event with Joanna Hollier, said Thursday that the luncheon is always held in August because that’s when everyone is in town.

Bringing the event back for the first time in years was a daunting prospect, Arness said.

Hollier died in January of 2020, and Arness said that she hadn’t wanted to do the event alone. She said that the COVID-19 pandemic ended up becoming a good reason not to.

But, on a “sleepless night” earlier this year — the kind of night she says she does all of her best thinking — she decided it was time. When she called Romain, the two were of the same mind.

“This is a good thing,” Arness said Thursday over the din of countless voices. “Folks enjoy it.”

Arness spoke to the crowd after dessert had been served, telling stories and handing out prizes. As she signed off, she said she hopes to see the crowd reassembled again next year.

For more information about the Kenai Senior Center, visit kenai.city/senior-services/page/senior-center.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

Kenai Senior Center Director Kathy Romain speaks at the Old Timer’s Luncheon at the Kenai Senior Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Senior Center Kathy Romain speaks at the Old Timer’s Luncheon at the Kenai Senior Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

A Civil Air Patrol cadet administers a hearty dollop of Cool Whip to a slice of pie at the Old Timer’s Luncheon at the Kenai Senior Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

One of “The Kids,” Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche, serves pie to attendees of the Old Timer’s Luncheon at the Kenai Senior Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

“The Kids” serve pie to attendees of the Old Timer’s Luncheon at the Kenai Senior Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Peggy Arness speaks during the Old Timer’s Luncheon at the Kenai Senior Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion “The Kids” serve lunch to attendees of the Old Timer’s Luncheon at the Kenai Senior Center in Kenai, on Thursday.