Janet Carter, a community inspiration: 1917-2006

By CAROLYN SCHUK

HONESDALE, PA — The life of Janet Carter, who died on Saturday, July 15, 2006, showed the interaction of individual and community at its best. Her best-known legacy is perhaps “Thanksgiving Together,” which began with a community Thanksgiving meal in the early 1980s and has since become an annual event. The concept spread to celebratory meals on other major holidays and “Saturday Together”—community luncheons on most Saturdays in local churches.

Janet was born in Brooklyn, NY on August 30, 1917 and attended Packer Collegiate Institute and Brooklyn College. In 1951 she married Edwin F. Carter, also of Brooklyn. In 1971, they operated the Keenan Pharmacy in Narrowsburg, NY, until Edwin’s death in 1981. She moved to Honesdale in 1987.

A woman of wide-ranging interests, Janet contributed widely to the community. Known for her devotion to Grace Episcopal Church, she taught religious education, putting her keen interest in Biblical scholarship to use, and belonged to the Episcopal Church Women and Altar Guild.

An avid reader, her favorites were Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and James T. Farrell. She also contributed travel articles to The River Reporter in the 1980s. Her activity in progressive politics was lifelong, and she walked New York City precincts for LaGuardia in the 1930s and Adlai Stevenson in the 1950s. A love of opera dated from her participation in Salmaggi Opera Company’s corps de ballet in the 1940s, for which she earned $1.

A foe of instant mashed potatoes, she created “Thanksgiving Together” in 1983 “to provide a Thanksgiving dinner at no charge… for those who for any reason wouldn’t have the pleasure of a social dinner on this traditional holiday.” Fellowship was the aim, with a plentiful dinner “as nearly like a family meal as possible... in the quality of the food, the style of serving, and a festive dining room.”

A good friend, she was always ready with a meal, faithful visits to the ill and housebound and a sympathetic ear for those in difficulties. Her strong opinions were tempered with wit and cleverness, and her advice was practical, although often unconventional. She advised parents, “Don’t ask teenagers too many questions. You don’t want your children to get in the habit of lying to you.”

Public-spirited to the end, Janet donated her remains to medical research.

[Carolyn Schuk would be happy to hear from anyone who knew her mother, 213 Saratoga Ave, Santa Clara, CA 95050, cschuk@earthlink.net, 408/910-8212.

See obituary on page 8.]