Turkey

by Forest F. Harvey

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. It was first started as a day of thanksgiving and praise. This means different things for different people.

In the 40’s, when we were growing up in the south, it meant “hog killing day”. The weather was thought to be cold enough to help preserve the meat. In the 60’s in West Virginia, it meant “deer hunting day”.

Traditionally the turkey has become the food of choice for this day. In my early years we did not have a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner but a big fat hen. In Kentucky fresh turkey was not common where we lived and the frozen ones had not “yet been invented”. As time passed to the 70’s, the supply source changed, depending on where you lived.

In 1970, I was pastor of a church in Tennessee. One of our families had a big farm and raised turkeys. They told us that they would be giving us a “Thanksgiving turkey” for the holiday. MEANWHILE…We had visitors coming from West Virginia. This meant we would have Thanksgiving Day dinner to plan and prepare. They arrived early in the week and we made plans to pick up the turkey.

We drove the ten or so miles to pick up the turkey. When we arrived Mr. and Mrs. Patrick gave us a grass sack with a hole in the top side. The turkey had it’s feet tied together and was waiting…

The instructions were to put the turkey in the sack with the HEAD through the hole. That would make it safe for him so he would not “thrash” around and bruise himself on the way home. His head would also be in a convenient place for the chopping block. Enough said…

My West Virginia friend and I did the rest. We had turkey and dressing and all the trimmings and pumpkin pie when the big day rolled around.

What a memorable week!

In 1972, I was still pastor of that church by the White Oak Creek in McEwen, Tennessee, about six miles from town. About a week before Thanksgiving Day a young couple knocked on my door and wanted to get married. “I will tell you up front that I do not have any money,” he said.

I never had a set charge for weddings or funerals so that was not a problem. I read the license and noted they were bought in Dickson County and we were in Humphreys County. So now we had a problem. The wedding had to be solemnized in Dickson County but they wanted to be married in the parsonage. So we did it all but pronounce them husband and wife in the parsonage.

For that I drove six or so miles, along with my wife and sons as witnesses, over the county line to a street light in front of a country store and gas station. When the service was finished he asked me to follow him to his mother’s house on the way home. He went inside and returned with a frozen turkey that he had won in a Turkey Shoot that day.

Now we had a turkey for Thanksgiving later in the week and he had a wife. I hope he still has her but the turkey is long gone!

The turkey was not always coming my way.

In 1981 I had moved to Paden City, West Virginia. The year before the people of the church had delivered 20 frozen turkeys to families. One was given to Winnie Wise, a man who rode his bicycle six miles from Sistersville. The church had given him the bicycle years earlier so he did not have to walk. He was in service every Sunday.

The next year he told the men he did not want a turkey but he wanted a pound of boloney. He lived alone and did not know how to cook or bake a frozen turkey.

I do not know what he did with the last year turkey.

“Thanksgiving is the time of year when everybody begins to plan for fowl murder”. (Copied)

Thanksgiving:

Husband (as they sat down to eat):”Honey the turkey is beautiful and tell me what kind of stuffing did you use?

Young wife: “Stuffing? I didn’t use any stuffing. This turkey wasn’t hollow”. (Copied)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Forest Harvey