~ Thanksgiving in America ~ During my Youth

I have fond recollections of Thanksgiving within America when I was a kid. We would celebrate both the American and the Canadian Thanksgivings. Within October and then in November. It really came to be when other families started coming over with a pie or something that was related to what Thanksgiving meant. First would be the Thanksgiving within October and then the other was in November.

In October, my folks would get us all ready to call the grandparents and I remember having to almost yell as I spoke to them. On my mother’s side they came to learn the English language and often my mother would try to tell us how to pronounce “Happy Thanksgiving" within Hungarian but I could never get it right. And then there was the call to my father’s father – whom was of Norwegian decent. He knew the English language very well actually a very intellegent man when it comes down to it and looks looks exactly like my father and it was all too easy to wish him a very happy Thanksgiving. We were the only ones within my family that had moved to the states all our relatives were living within this small town by the name of Yorkton.

Then our neighbors whom really with many became literally like family – they would show up with something on the Canadian Thanksgiving, which amazed my father especially. Then it became a yearly ritual to celebrate both Thanksgivings.  Mom back then would bake for nearly three days and then on the American Thanksgiving the two of them would make there rounds to our neighbors and do the very same. Now as a kid it was something to have 2 Thanksgivings. The turkey, cabbage rolls and most off all ...........THE DRESSING. I am not sure about you but that was the best of the best and then thereafter enjoying the day with neighbors and playing football or climbing trees in the backyard. Yeah those were precious days.

I remember when my father was deciding to retire and my bother was up in Canada attending the Queens University. We would get up and head up to Kingston, Ontario and bring him back for only the Canadian Thanksgiving as it was only observed in October.  Driving back across the border and through the Adirondacks and into New York State and just turning to come back to where we lived and I will never forget my old man saying, “this really is home isn’t it.”

As it was…