Shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday, Heather Dawson loaded bags of cinnamon rolls, scones and small quiche into her father’s truck outside The Mixer restaurant and headed to Jennie Stuart’s Express Lab on the bypass.
They were on a mission to feed and show support for some 25 lab employees who are running the lab’s drive-thru COVID-19 test site.
Along with the baked goods from Dawson’s restaurant, they carried more food, gift cards, snacks and personal cards from several downtown business owners and the city’s Downtown Renaissance Program.
Butter and Grace, a new shop specializing in carry-out food, sent several containers of chicken salad and pimento cheese. The Tavern sent a gift card so the lab can order meals to-go later. Renaissance Director Holly Boggess added snacks and candy. Milkweed Health and Harmony Emporium sent bars of soap. Others pitched in cash to help cover the cost of ingredients. And the 6th Street Boutique has started sewing face masks for local healthcare workers, Dawson said.
“Everyone cheered when we walked in with all the bags,” Dawson said in a text message, describing the reaction at the lab.
Several cars were already in line with people waiting to be screened.
Dawson said she knows it will be “a very long day” for the lab.
She organized the food and gift delivery after texting Jennie Stuart Health CEO Eric Lee on Sunday to ask how the downtown businesses could help the hospital.
The downtown contributors also included the Corner Coffeehouse, Bella Marie, Griffin’s Studio, Hopkinsville Brewing Co., J. Schrecker Jewelry, the Hopkinsville Art Guild Gallery and the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
