Turkey and togetherness in McLaughlin Hall

When staff member Elba Fitzwater cooks for the crowd, connection is key

“Elba is one of the best people I’ve ever met on campus,” says Owen Kelly ’28, a McLaughlin Hall resident, who recalled Elba Fitzwater attending one of his live music performances earlier this year. “She’s super supportive of the students, and she did all this. She just does so much.”

James Gecek ’28 knew before he even got out of bed that the day had arrived.

Gecek first heard the rumor almost immediately after moving into UNH’s McLaughlin Hall to kick off his freshman year — word had it that Elba Fitzwater, McLaughlin’s beloved building service worker, prepared an amazing Thanksgiving meal for residents just prior to the holiday break every November.

He wasn’t awake for long on November 17 before the intoxicating aromas floating through the building all but confirmed the tales.

“I woke up and the hall smelled really good, and I thought, ‘Today is the day,’” Gecek says.

Indeed it was. For the third year, Fitzwater dazzled the building’s residents with a home-cooked Thanksgiving spread worthy of a fully staffed restaurant. She prepared all the traditional trimmings — roughly a dozen choices from main meal to dessert — as well as a rice-and-beans dish representing her Puerto Rican heritage. She works with other staff members, as well as Hall Director El Beringer and dorm RAs, to make the day a success.

The day also includes a quilt project, where each student and staff member is asked to design a small fabric square that reflects their personality. Fitzwater then creates a quilt to represent the residents for that year.

“I really adore these kids, that’s why I do it,” Fitzwater says. “We wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving so they can have fellowship with their own friends before some went home and others stayed.”

The feast was homemade by Fitzwater, using various kitchens in different residence halls the morning of the gathering. She grew up cooking in her family, and her professional experience includes time at a fine dining restaurant and catering company in Kentucky where she learned to calculate portions and counts necessary for cooking for a crowd. The company made everything from scratch with a farm-to-table approach.

After all the food has been prepped and set up and students have come to the lounge, Fitzwater can stop and appreciate the power of seeing so many students with different interests and backgrounds gathering to create new connections.

“It’s about them being together and having a nice time. A lot of these kids didn’t know each other, and now look at them — they’re all blended,” she says. “That’s the beauty of this.”