Allan Wallace, a retired New Jersey television producer who moved to Hawaii after retiring 32 years ago, spent a third Thanksgiving without his “significant other” this year, but he didn’t spend it alone. 

The 94-year-old, who built the miniature Christmas village being featured for a second year at the Hawaii State Library, was one of thousands enjoying the Salvation Army’s annual Thanksgiving feast at the Neal Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall Thursday.

The Salvation Army has hosted the free Thanksgiving event for the past 42 years.

What started as an event serving about 500 meals in 1970 has grown to one dishing up nearly 2,500, said Maj. John M. Chamness, divisional commander of the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands Division of the Salvation Army.