Senior Older and Wiser By June Michel LET’S TALK TURKEY
Its Thanksgiving. We really do have so much to be thankful for. Do you have any idea where our generation would be without Covid-19 vaccines? We can be very thankful for all those bright minds who rapidly invented the vaccine. That’s the thing about this holiday. From the beginning, Thanksgiving has been a time of collective thanks for the events of the moment. So, here’s the what, when and where of Thanksgiving. My readers will be Thanksgiving trivia pursuit geniuses.
THE ROUTE TO A FEDERAL THANKSGIVING: The first Thanksgiving took place in 1621 when the pilgrims of Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts held a celebration meal with the Wampanoag Indians to celebrate their harvest. Next, November 26, 1789 was declared a national American day of thanksgiving by President Washington for the purpose of giving thanks for the United States Constitution. We still did not have a yearly thanksgiving until the Civil War. In 1863, to honor the success of the Union army at Gettysburg, President Lincoln declared the third Thursday in November, the National Day of Thanksgiving.
WHERE DOES THE PHRASE “LET’S TALK TURKEY” COME FROM?
The earliest record of let’s talk turkey comes from the year 1824 and is attributed to a talk between a white hunter and his Indian hunting companion. At the end of the hunt, the white hunter tried to hoodwink the Indian hunter saying “for my share of the hunt, I will take the turkey and you can take the buzzard. Or, if you prefer, you can take the buzzard, and I will take the turkey.” To which the wise Indian replied “You no talk turkey.” Today we use the phrase to mean speaking fairly and clearly.
WHO HAS THE BEST PRICE FOR WHOLE TURKEYS? My neighbor went to Grocery Outlet for the best price for a turkey. If you spend $30 on other things Grocery Outlet will give you a $14 discount on a Jennie-O turkey. My neighbor paid just $8.00 for a 14lb turkey. This is hard to beat.
DOES THE PRESIDENT EAT THE TURKEYS HE PARDONS? For generations the finest Thanksgiving turkeys were presented to the President and then featured at the presidential feast. The first President to give the turkey a reprieve was John F. Kennedy. He was presented with a whopping 55lb turkey. He asked the farmer to give the turkey more time to grow. In recent years the national turkeys receive Presidential pardons and are donated live to various universities for their poultry science programs. This year’s national turkey will be given to Purdue University, Indiana.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING and remember, you read it in The FACTS Newspaper.
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