Faith in Practice

Despite being in their 80s, couple still committed to Meals on Wheels

By Brett Buckner
Staff Writer

07-12-2008

Wallace and Dorsie Lindsey load their meals to be delivered into their SUV at the First United Methodist Church in Oxford. Photo: Stephen Gross/The Anniston Star

In the parking lot of the Oxford United Methodist Church, Wallace Lindsey's acting like a school kid, joking with a handful of volunteers and grinning like he's gotten away with something he knew better than to do.

"This is my favorite part of the week," Wallace says, seemingly oblivious to the 95-degree afternoon that's wilted everything but his spirits. "It's what I live for."

Though a playful exaggeration, Wallace is obviously having a good time. But he's not alone. He's being watched, monitored. Standing in the shade is Dorsie Lindsey, Wallace's wife of 64 years. Though most of her attention is trained on the story being told by an old friend, she's also keeping an eye on her husband.

"Stop pestering everybody," Dorsie calls out like a teacher at recess, biting back a smile. "You're going to get yourself in trouble."

But it's not his wife's warnings that convince Wallace to straighten up. Rather, it's the Toyota mini-van that's pulled into the church parking lot with the Meals on Wheels banner slapped on both front door panels. From the moment he sees that, Wallace is all business.

"Let's get to work," he says, pulling open the van's back hatch even before it's reached a complete stop. "This food won't deliver itself."

The small crowd of volunteers gathers around the stacks of trays, hands reaching and grabbing, and in a few moments the back of the van is as empty as the parking lot it sits in.

For 20 years, Wallace Lindsey has volunteered his Monday afternoons to deliver hot lunches to the elderly and the physically disabled who receive help through Interfaith Ministries' Meals on Wheels program. He, along with his wife, are among an army of volunteers that delivers 500 meals, five days a week to more than 100 people scattered across both Anniston and Oxford.

"And we're younger than most of the people we visit," says the 85-year-old Wallace.

Dorsie, who is 83, started riding along with Wallace about 10 years ago. Together they're a formidable team with each serving a specific purpose. Wallace is the driver/navigator, mapping out the quickest routes and dodging in and out of traffic. The cliché about elderly drivers does not apply here.

Meanwhile, Dorsie is the communicator. She rings the doorbell and charms strangers with graceful, if somewhat abbreviated, conversation.

"There's just not a lot of time to talk," she says, almost apologetically. "I'd love to stay all day, but we've got other deliveries to make. Other people are waiting on us."

Over the years, Wallace and Dorsie have traveled many routes — DeArmanville, Golden Springs, Nottingham, up and down U.S. Highway 78 — carrying as many as 12 meals at a time. Today, they'll deliver to various spots along Friendship Road. Though they only have three stops, the actual mileage traveled is more than most.

But that doesn't matter. Like with the 70-plus other Meals on Wheels volunteers, for Wallace and Dorsie, spending their afternoons to better the lives of relative strangers is the least they can do.

"A lot of them are shut-ins," Wallace says, never taking his eyes off the road, "so we may be the only people they see all day. It's about fellowship as much as it is about food."

And as she so often does, Dorsie completes her husband's thought … this time from the backseat.

"It's just such a blessing for us," she says. "We get the chance to help do for those who can't do for themselves. And you can tell by their expressions just how much it means to them."

Take Erin Snowden for example. She's opening the screen door while the doorbell still echoes through her home. It was as if she was anticipating the day's visit, which, of course, she was.

"Good to see you again," Snowden says, holding the door open. "Come on in."

Though the exchange is brief, taking place mostly in the kitchen where Dorsie lays out the day's meal of roast beef, potatoes, green beans, cornbread and Oreo pie, its value is written in the smile on Snowden's face as she waves goodbye from her porch.

"It's a godsend," she says. "With this, my children don't worry so much about me. They're relieved because they know I'm eating well and that I've got people looking after me."

Though Snowden appears to be doing well, the same cannot be said for every place that Wallace and Dorsie visit.

"We've been in some pitiful places," Wallace says. "It just breaks your heart to see how some people are living. Really makes us appreciate our own good health."

"We're very fortunate," Dorsie adds. "We're proud to help any way that we can."

Wallace started delivering for Meals on Wheels back in 1987 as a member of the Kiwanis Club. He worked with a good friend for a number of years before convincing Dorsie to join him in 1993.

"You get up on Monday with a purpose, something to look forward to," Dorsie says. "These people need us … not just for the food but for the company."

But it's not just the people who need volunteers, but the Meals on Wheels program itself. With more than 70 routes run daily, the number of volunteers, most of whom are of retirement age, is always in high demand.

"We're short," says Anne Banks, who, along with her husband, Ray, is the volunteer coordinator for Meals on Wheels. "We can always use more … maybe four or five to work Oxford and more than that to help in Anniston."

When it comes to qualifications, Banks is looking for someone who is caring and willing to donate some of their time to help others less fortunate.

"We want someone of good character," she says. "People who can be reliable, but mostly just looking for good, friendly people."

And once they start, they'll be hooked, Banks adds, saying that she's had no trouble keeping volunteers.

"That's not a problem at all," she says. "Once they get started, they'll find it hard to walk away from such an easy and rewarding experience."

Just ask Wallace and Dorsie who, for 20 years and countless miles, have traveled the roads of Oxford just to help others.

'Course, there is a looming threat to such driven charity work.

Though Banks says it's a non-issue, Wallace has heard the rumblings from those who are having a hard time justifying their volunteer work for Meals on Wheels given the ever-soaring price of gas.

"It's hard on everybody," he says before pulling out for the day's visits. "Most people can't afford to drive much of anywhere. And it's tough to deliver food on a bicycle."

But Dorsie and Wallace aren't worried about that — at least not yet. For the time being, high gas prices or not, they intend to keep up the good work.

"We try not to think too much about that," Dorsie says, eyeing a gas station as Wallace drives past. "We'll go wherever they send us for as long as we can get there.

"It's a sacrifice that'll be rewarded in the end."