HANSVILLE — For nearly 15 years, Hansville residents have been gathering together at the Greater Hansville Community Center to share a meal, information and companionship. Now, after having organized the Hansville Neighbors’ Luncheon nine months out of the year for about six years, coordinator Bonnie Isaacs is ready to step out of the kitchen and let someone else take up the spatula.

The problem is, while a number of people want to help, no one seems willing to get behind the stove, which could cause the once-a-month meal to go up in smoke.

“Bonnie is an amazing person,” said Greater Hansville Community Center President Tom Ritley. “She’s been doing this for years… The Neighbors’ Luncheon brings people together and gives the community, gives the people out here a valuable time together that means so much to each of us.”

The luncheon was started years ago after several of the older residents in the North End community decided they no longer wanted to attend the monthly evening meetings because they didn’t like driving at night, Isaacs said. It was decided a luncheon would be more feasible, and several women started the event, cooking the meal themselves. After years of working behind the scenes, they suffered from burn out, and a professional cook was hired from September to May, said Hansville resident and Neighbors’ Luncheon volunteer Red Denson.

“For four or five years, we didn’t really have a program,” he said. The lunch hosts a different speaker or group each month as part of the event. “Bob Birch was really instrumental in getting that started. He was a veterinarian in Seattle before he moved here, and had a lot of contacts over there… It increased the number of attendees by a great deal, more than doubled the people who were coming.”

At first, the program segments were fun and entertaining, but as the luncheons evolved, the speakers did as well until they were presenting on information pertinent to the demographic living in Hansville, Isaacs said.

“We serve anywhere from 90 to 120 people,” she said. “Sometimes the program is informational, sometimes it’s entertainment. This September we’ll have a photographer bringing in her pictures of Antarctica. It’s very varied, with a wide variety of topics.”

Isaacs said she still wants to be involved in the Neighbors’ Luncheon, but feels the time has come for her to take a lesser role in running it. Denson also stepped back from organizing the programs after he ran out of people and ideas to present during the monthly meetings. Ritley made an announcement at the July 10 Greater Hansville Area Advisory Committee meeting, and several other community gatherings since, that the group is seeking a new event coordinator, but so far no one has answered the call.

“Well, I shudder to think this program will die,” Denson said. “It’s very beneficial to the community and it just gets people to know about each other… We need to perpetuate that. I would hope, really hope, enough people step forward to keep this thing going.”