i WROTE THIS BACK IN 2014 BUT i WAS READING IT LAST NIGHT AND A THOUGHT IT WAS STLL APPROPRIATE. sO i THOUGHT i WOULD GIVE IT A 2ND GO AROUND.
Thanksgiving In A Small Town
When I try to remember Thanksgiving growing
up in a small town many things come to mind and of course almost all of them
are different than they are today.
The first thing, and maybe the most
important is the family and real friends. I lived in a small town and I
had close cousins who lived there also. Probably just as important as cousins
and perhaps more so was that in our small town, USA many years ago people
developed friendships that were very close and in many cases lasted for a
lifetime.
My hometown was in the mountains over 7000
feet in elevation so by the time Thanksgiving rolled around there was usually
snow someplace to sled on or ice on one of the ponds nearby.
One
thing I distinctly remember is that every winter I wanted a Flexible Flyer
sleigh. It seemed like every kid on town wanted one but there were not too many
of us that got one.
Of
course as we got older we used to slide down the hills around town either on a
scoop shovel or the hood of an old car we had “scrounged” up and I think maybe
that was more fun than a sleigh.
While the Mom’s and Dad’s were putting together the
big Thanksgiving feast, we, the kids were usually off sledding, skating or as
we got older we would go rabbit hunting in the morning making sure we were back
in time for the feast.
The town I grew up in had people from many
different countries and my Mom was a very good cook so our Thanksgiving dinner
was usually different than the plain old fare.
The turkey was pretty much the same as any
Thanksgiving turkey. The one difference I remember was we put pine nuts in the
dressing which gave it a distinct taste different than most dressings today,
(which many times just come out of a box from the store.) The other thing that
was usually cooked different from year to year was the sweet potatoes or yams.
The real big difference was the deserts.
Because of all the different nationalities and the fact that my Mom was a great
cook we always had an abundance of different deserts.
We had Greek Honey Cookies, Belgium Waffle
Cookies, Patisa, Butter Squares, divinity, fudge and several other types of
candy. We also had Fruit Cake wrapped in wine cloths and the ever popular Sugar
Cookies.
When the family was finished eating everyone
would help clean up and card tables were put up and some headed for a favorite
spot on the floor as we got out the game boards and cards to settle in for the
rest of the evening. The adults usually played cards and the kids usually game
board games. It seems like Monopoly sometimes went on for days?
When we had all had enough games and eaten
enough “goodies” we would call it a day and all head for our various homes.
Of course we all knew there would be plenty
of left over’s the next day—and of course the next day we could start looking
forward to Christmas and New Years
I
just wondered as I sit here reminiscing how many others out there remember the
Holiday’s or the 1940, 1950 era and if
they were as enjoyable to you as they were to me?
