Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There’s never been a doubt in my mind. It’s an easy to understand celebration that we all can enjoy as there is just one simple theme: To give thanks to our Creator for all of the blessings that we have received.
When I was growing up on the Bupp family farm, Thanksgiving was indeed a special occasion. My mother would bake the pies for Thanksgiving dinner the day before Thanksgiving. She would make a mince meat pie (my father’s favorite) made with real beef and apple cider and perhaps a couple of other pies like apple or pumpkin. On Thanksgiving Day, she would rise very early in the morning before 5:00 am to stuff the turkey and to put the turkey in the oven. She always made two kinds of dressings: inside or outside. There were the daily chores that had to be done as usual: milk the cows and feed the chickens before breakfast. My father always had some special chores for us to do on Thanksgiving morning like cleaning out the barn which we didn’t much enjoy! My Uncle and Aunt Carlson and Cousin Lee would arrive around noon. Uncle Arnie was a native of Jamestown, NY, and although he was a slim man, he loved to eat.
Usually dinner was served around 1:00 – 1:30 pm and we all sat down to enjoy the fruits of our labor. When it was time for dessert, My mother would ask each one of us which piece of pie would you like and my Uncle would ask, ‘What kind do you have?’ and after my mother would tell him the choices, he would say, “I’ll have both!”. The men would go rabbit hunting after Thanksgiving dinner while the women would do the dishes in the kitchen and catch up on family activities. Besides Sunday afternoons, Thanksgiving afternoons were the only afternoons that my father ever took off from taking care of the cows and farming the land.
This year I am especially thankful for my good health which allows me to wander around the 8,300 square miles of the Finger Lakes region taking photographs. I am thankful for all of you, my readers, whom I take along with me as we discover the natural beauty of this unique region. Jeanette and I will be visiting family and friends over Thanksgiving so my next post won’t be until November 28. Until then, enjoy one of the greatest gifts that have been given to us: the re-uniting of family and friends!
Jim,
You certainly captured Thanksgiving at your mother’s (Aunt Dorothy to me) perfectly. My father, (your Uncle Arnie) always did ask what kind of pies and usually had both. Thanks for the wonderful memories.
Cousin Lee
Lee,
It is with great detail that I can recall those Thanksgivings past. Those memories are carved in my mind like words chiseled on stone. Now, our parents are gone.