Remembering Thanksgiving

Residents of St. Joseph Assisted Living Center reminisce about what Thanksgiving Day was like before Black Friday, Butterball turkeys and the Macy's Day Parade.

Alice Trosper:

Alice said while growing up in Nebraska, her family raised turkeys and sold them for Thanksgiving. She remembers having to pick the pin feathers off of the bird for the holiday feast. Her brothers or her father would catch the turkey.

“There were seven of us kids, so we made a crowd,” she said. “We always knew Christmas wasn’t too far away then.”

She remembers baking and eating lots of apple and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. The rest of the meal depended on what had been grown in the garden. She said some years they would have peas if the frost hadn’t gotten to them first. After the meal, the boys would play cards, but the girls weren’t allowed to play.

Alice said some years the snow would be so deep they would have to run a rope from the house to the chicken coop to the outhouse and back again. When it was warm enough to play in the show, Alice said she and her siblings would use old running boards from cars as sleds.

“You know, I wouldn’t trade that life for anything,”Alice said.

Rita Peters:

Rita said it was just her and her brother growing up, but they made up for it by having plenty of cousins. One aunt had 13 children and she would let Rita’s parents “borrow” three or four for the kids to play with.

At Thanksgiving dinner there would be upwards of 70 guests and each family would bring a different dish. She said they had a large table with leaves that could stretch large enough to fit 20 people.

When she was older, she remembers sitting around the table playing cards after Thanksgiving dinner.

She said she grew up in South Dakota, where they raised geese, chickens and turkeys. She said they would often have chicken or a goose in place of the traditional turkeys. She remembers eating many different berry pies.

Loretta Wilson:

Loretta said she remembers large neighborhood Thanksgiving dinners with all of the trimmings.

Each family would bring an item for the potluck and share the meal as a large group.

She said it was different from many other Thanksgiving traditions.

Everyone would play games and cards together before and after the meal.

She said it was one of the largest community events of the year.

Looking back, the holidays were more about coming together with the group of people you care for rather than gifts, shopping, parades and football.