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Post-Thanksgiving Synopsis
posted by Heather on November 29, 2002 at 07:09 AM

Thanks to all of you who provided ideas for our Thanksgiving discussions. We received some others by e-mail & phone - I’ll try to get those posted in the next few days so that we’ve got them handy when we need them again (beware of when 2 or 3 of these groups are gathered together …).

Anyway, thought I’d give you the report of things, as it’s some fun family history. You’ll probably all chuckle at the varied results we got:

1. What was Thanksgiving like when you were 5? (Served with the ginger-carrot soup from a jar by Walnut Acres)

This really turned into a discussion of what life was like when folks were 5, as no one could specifically remember Thanksgiving.

Vel: When Vel was 5, they were living on the farm. She was the baby of the family, so this was probably one of the last years all her siblings were still at home. When Vel was 5, Ruby was 10, Ed was 15, and Art was 18 or so. Vel’s mom probably cooked the entire dinner, including pumpkin pie from scratch, probably something with apples (it being eastern Washington), and turkey. The turkey might have been one they raised, but she wasn’t sure.

Jo: They were living in Marietta and we determined Aunt Ruth would have been about 2.

Heather: Our family would have just moved into the house on Fullerton. David would have been about a year old and I suspect we went to Hamilton to have Thanksgiving with Grandma & Grandpa McCreath.

Kim: They were living in Bay Park, an area not far from where Vel now lives. This was the first house they had in the San Diego area. Greg would have been 8 and Candy would have been 6. Vel and Kim agreed they probably went to Costa Mesa to have Thanksgiving at Keith & Flo’s - Keith was one of Kim’s dad’s older brothers. Kim remembers always having fun at their house. He recalls Keith was good at slight-of-hand magic, so was always pulling coins out of your ear or pulling kleenex through your ears. They also remembered that Flo & Keith were huge LA Rams fans.

2. What was the funniest thing that ever happened on Thanksgiving? (Mixed greens salad with mandarin oranges & sliced almonds, sourdough dinner rolls)

Vel & Jo both said nothing funny ever happened - it was always just a nice occasion.

Kim couldn’t remember anything, so I had to trot out the Brian and punky pie story (accompanied by groans from Kim). Sarah enjoyed the story, though :). I also recalled the Thanksgiving weekend when Mom & Dad visited us in Birmingham and we raked up 78 bags of leaves and pine needles.

3. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? (Herb-roasted turkey breast, fresh cranberry sauce from Whole Foods, red rice from Trader Joe’s, boiled new potatoes with basil, squash and sweet potato rings (you need the recipe for this!!))

Sarah: Texas to see the cowboys and then to Denver to see her buddies

Vel: Alaska

Jo: No answer, as she hadn’t had time to think about it

Kim: Incan ruins in South America (it seems like he suggested another place, too, but I can’t remember!)

Heather: Incan ruins and St. Petersburg Russia (where the Hermitage is)

4. Who is the relative you remember who was the most older than you? (Homemade pumpkin pie and punky pie (Cool Whip))

Sarah: Grandma Jo (she was really plowing through her second piece of pie by the time we got to her, so I answered for her)

Vel: Her dad’s parents, who we figured out must have been born in the 1840s.

Jo: Unclear, but perhaps Grandpa’s parents? We figured they’d been born in the 1890s. We also determined that Grandma remembered parts of WW I and remembered knowing about Woodrow Wilson. However, when Kim asked what her parents thought of him, she said she would never have thought to ask them.

Kim: His maternal grandparents, although his paternal uncles were also much older than his dad.

Heather: My great-grandmother Stalder (Grandma Jo’s mother)

We think this is a fascinating question, because you only have to go back 3 generations or so to have someone who would remember parts of the Civil War and one further generation to have folks who remember the Revolutionary War. Now there’s an American history lesson for you!

We hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving, regardless of whether you ate at home or out and whether you prepared the food or not. It was a beautiful SoCal day (high around 80) and we had a table nicely decorated with placecards from Sarah (did the spelling herself, except for help with “Vel”) and flowers from Aunt Jean and Mom (many thanks!). We are so grateful for all we have, but we are particularly grateful to have all of you in our lives.

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Comments

Lovely!!!! Sarah really enjoyed being a part of the family event it seems. You came up with great questions, and the answers to some were very interesting. What has caused the interest in the Inca Indians? St. Petersburg for that matter?

We had a lovely day with Dottie (cousin) and Bill, Laurie (Dottie's oldest daughter) and Mike, Cathy (Bill's daughter) Greg, Dean (4) and Mark (18 mo.). Turkey and trimmings from Kroger (what a deal), 4 or 5 dishes made by Dottie. We pulled Sarah's box (the one with crayons, chalk, slinky, etc.) out for the boys to use. No damage. Everything o.k. for her next visit. Sure glad we had it handy. They are neat boys.

Posted by Ruth | November 29, 2002 02:51 PM

Let me add this comment-- We also told the punky-pie story, in memory of Kim. However, because there was so much family present, we did not need to structure questions. For instance, Bill's daughter is planning to go to seminary, and Dottie's family wanted to find out more of that.

Posted by Dad | November 30, 2002 01:09 PM

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