Ilsa Minor | Daily Press Those who attended the Community Thanksgiving Dinner held at the Escanaba High School on Thanksgiving may have seen a special sign created just for the event. The sign, shown at LEFT, featured the names of 100 local businesses and individuals that sponsored the 44th dinner. The dinner was started in 1980 and was the idea of the pastor at Escanaba’s First Presbyterian Church, who hoped to foster fellowship and togetherness while making a special place for anyone who might be alone on the holiday. Only two dinners have been missed since the event’s start, both of which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the dinner’s early years, the site of the event rotated between churches, but eventually the dinner grew too large and it was moved to the Escanaba High School.