To the Editor:

As the cream rises to the top of the milk bottle outside your door (you remember?), so did a faithful group of women rise to the occasion when the Helderberg Senior Lunch Program seemed doomed to close last September.

The Congregate Lunch Program, which is held every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday at the Helderberg Senior Center, 1360 Helderberg Trail, in the town of Berne is funded in large part through the Albany County Department of the Aging, but also through small donations from the diners themselves.

Mrs. Karen Stark was passed the baton as Volunteer Chairwoman of the program after the untimely death of Linda Hodges. Karen’s volunteer teammates include Madeline, Sharon, Debbie, Rose, and Rosalie, without whose continued support and encouragement, our lunch program would not exist.

My husband, John, and I cannot be thankful enough for all the time, energy, colorful decorations and parties, van rides, camaraderie — and laughs! — that all these ladies — and others too numerous to mention — have put, and continue to put into this program here in our Hilltowns.

May God bless you all — and continue to put a smile on your face and give you strength.

Susan and John Miner

East Berne