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10/18/2017 08:30 AMGail Nettleton has dedicated much of her life to helping her fellow friends and neighbors in East Haven, and her valuable contribution was recently recognized with the 2017 Merit Award.
The award, which recognizes East Haven residents who have made contributions for the betterment of the town, was a surprise for Gail, who said she was very emotional when she found out she was a recipient.
“I do it because I want to; I feel that’s the only thing to do is to help others,” Gail says, “I was like that all my life.”
Gail and fellow Merit Award winners Steve “Big Steve” Tracey and Sue Lowe received their awards at the annual banquet on Sept. 7.
Gail began volunteering at the East Haven United Community Kitchen at Christ and The Epiphany Episcopal Church on the East Haven Green to meet people. Recovering from an illness, volunteering helped her get out of her “old ways” of not getting out and doing much—the kitchen, which offers hot, nutritious meals to any member of the East Haven community, is open every third Saturday.
She started out rolling silverware in the front since the kitchen was full at the time, but after somebody left, she stepped up and “now I’m running it,” she says.
“I’m the cook,” Gail says, “I’m doing the front that I used to do, and I’m doing the kitchen part, too, but I enjoy every minute of it.”
Shopping and preparing the menu are two other tasks Gail does for the community kitchen. Coming from a close-knit family was another reason she wanted to be involved helping others. Gail says she loves everyone who comes in, and the volunteers she works with are “the bomb.”
She says the kitchen is looking to extend to opening three Saturdays per month from its current two—she only wants to move upward with no stepping back. The kitchen is also looking to welcome guests from beyond the East Haven border, too.
“We’re a professional kitchen, which means we’ll open no matter rain, snow, sleet; we’re like the mailmen, only we serve dinner,” Gail says with a laugh.
The volunteers thank Gail for working by their side, and Gail says they tell her they learn something every day, even though they’re good home cooks.
“They go ‘You give me so many tips.’ I’m happy to do it,” Gail says.
Aside from the community kitchen, Gail was recently asked to cook for the East Haven Senior Center for a dinner, and volunteers at the soup kitchen in Branford. She also feeds members of the East Haven High School football team, including her grandson Mario Natale, saying that “the entire front line is down in my cellar every weekend,” adding that they’re able to go through about three gallons of orange juice.
Feeding a big crowd is not unusual for Gail, who used to feed 18 to 20 people every night when she was starting her family, including her sisters and their husbands and children, and her mom and dad.
“I love the task of organizing, shopping, getting everything ready,” Gail says.
Over the years, Gail informally took in 11 kids with challenging family situations at her Messina Drive home. She says they still call her “nonni.”
“They’ve gotten so big,” Gail says, “I’ve had them from infants all the way up to 12 years old.
“I never asked for anything from the parents, because they never had it,” Gail says.
It was an overwhelming experience for Gail to receive the Merit Award for her contributions, saying she knows what she does and she’s happy to do it.
“It was just a true honor to get that call,” she says.