Some anewscafe.com contributors ceased their pre-Thanksgiving activities long enough to share some of their favorite Thanksgiving memories, plus they added their two cents about Thanksgiving’s most over-rated dishes.

Readers, we’d love to hear from you, too, so feel free to chime in below with your thoughts.

In the meantime, we thank all of you for making anewscafe.com such a great community place. We wish you and yours the best Thanksgiving ever.

- Affectionately yours, Doni, Kelly and everyone at anewscafe.com.

Lauren Brooks - “When I was a kid, my family used to spend Thanksgiving at my aunt and uncle’s house in Chico. About a dozen relatives would be there, but my aunt always made enough food for a small army. She believed in the “more is better” philosophy. I distinctly remember her mixing the stuffing in a large black trash bag in the kitchen because there was so much it wouldn’t fit in a bowl, much less in a turkey. We always had tons of leftovers.”

Carla Jackson - “I have this delightful memory from Thanksgiving Day, 1992 - the day my grandfather and I entered Redding’s 7th Annual Turkey Trot.
In his late 80s and nearly crippled with osteoporosis, my grandfather loved outings in his wheelchair to sight-see and feed ducks by the river. At the time, I was a workout fiend and we’d developed a routine where I’d push him at a run in the wheelchair, stopping of course, to feed the ducks. With many miles of solid training under our belts, it just seemed natural to enter the 6 mile Turkey Trot event.
On Thanksgiving morning - race day - we outfitted Gramps in Arctic wear so he could withstand the wind chill during his high-speed tour of the Sacramento River Trail. I wore my purple, psychedelic, leftover-from-the-1980s spandex tights.
My normally shy, reticent grandfather had a blast that chilly day, waving at our fellow competitors and feigning exhaustion during his strenuous “run” whenever he caught someone’s eye. We finished third in our category, which meant we’d placed “in the pies” and the smile on his face at the awards ceremony was priceless. The next day, the newspaper ran a photo of us accepting our prize.
Fast forward to today. I dusted off an old scrapbook to thoroughly bask in the glow of this warm memory. I found the page with the third place Turkey Trot ribbon and the Thanksgiving Day picture of Grandpa dressed in his Arctic gear, colorful afghan covering his legs…but wait! In the photo, he was feeding ducks with my Aunt Grace! I flipped ahead several pages and discovered the picture of Grandpa and me from the newspaper. The photo was taken at a much smaller race in the spring of 1992. What the…?
Apparently, on the foggy outskirts of my memory, two separate races melded into one totally bitchin’ event! Yes, in 1992 Grandpa and I entered a race at the River Trail, and yes, we received a “special award,” (probably in the made-up-on-spot category of Granddaughters Pushing Their Octogenarian Grandfathers in Wheelchairs) but it was not the Turkey Trot! I did participate in the Turkey Trot that year and even won a pie, but I ran the race sans Grandpa.
Now, as I reconsider my Thanksgiving memory, I realize that entering my introverted grandfather in the famous and crowded Turkey Trot might have been, you know, a tad overwhelming. Really, what on earth was I thinking?”

Melissa Mendonca - “My best Thanksgiving happened last year at the Silver Legacy Casino in Reno. My mom and niece went to meet up with four of my former students from the outer islands of Yap, where I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1995-97. I taught these kids on an island less than a mile square when they were in 4th and 5th grade. I’d found out only a few months before the holiday last year that they were in Reno enrolled in the Job Corps program. I’d had no idea! When I realized how close they were I insisted that we help them have a “real” Thanksgiving, however “real” you can get at a casino buffet.

It was a shock to see them all grown up. They were between the ages of 21 and 23! And it was mind-boggling to believe that I was seeing them at all. But my happiness was so deeply and tenderly felt. We shared so many memories and the boys caught me up on everyone I knew “back home”. They spoke about home as if it was mine also, not as if I’d been a volunteer for just two years a long time ago.

While I wasn’t surrounded by my large biological family last year over a traditional home-cooked meal, I was reunited with a different family. Although they are now young men, these four are still “my boys” and hold a very dear spot in my heart. Every teacher can give a special prayer of thanks to see former students beginning to thrive as adults.”

Randy Smith - “We met for Thanksgiving at my grandparents home in Ovid (pop. 1300) before they departed Michigan on an annual trek to Florida. The “we” was fifteen first cousins, their parents, two maiden great aunts, grandparents and a few visiting relatives from out of state. This gathering happened for almost a decade from the middle 1950s and was only surpassed in size by Fourth of July celebration which was variable in location as this gathering was not.

Anyway, my grandfather owned a swivel, high backed, four legged piano chair which was put to the test each Thanksgiving. In turn, every grandchild over five years old was placed in the chair moved to the middle of the living room and turned ever faster by the others until they either fell out or yelled for relief. The sensation and effect was better than any carnival ride, only happened at Thanksgiving and occasioned great mirth to the adults and children alike. The Thanksgiving Spin occurred before the huge meal which was scattered throughout the home or there would have been very unpleasant side effects accruing to the participants and observers.”

Robert Rock - “After almost three years serving in the Pacific campaign of WW II, I came home in November 1946. For all the reasons, Mom held a family-wide Thanksgiving dinner for all. Uncles, Aunts, Grandfathers, Grandmothers, Fathers, Mothers, Children, even the neighbors. Here I was, twenty-four years old, from a kid in college to a First Lt. in the Army Corps of Combat Engineers. Eighteen months on Okinawa during the biggest battle of the Pacific, decorated, wiser, tougher, even ready to go back and serve in the clean-up campaign another year or two.

In the middle of the preparations Mom suddenly realized she had no ice cream, I quickly volunteered to go get it. Still in uniform, I put my O.D. cap on, picked up Dad’s car keys and headed for the door. Halfway through, Mom shouted from the kitchen so loudly everyone could hear: ‘Bob, do you have to go to the bathroom before you go?’ “

Barbara Stone - “When my husband John and I were first married, 20 plus years ago, he worked at a local radio station. We had no family here in town so at holiday time, we would invite ‘orphans’ - you know, co-workers and friends that would be alone, too, to have dinner with us. I love to cook and was used to cooking for a large family so it felt natural to me to have a full table.

One year, my sister came up from L.A. for Thanksgiving. This was before she met the love of her life. John, as usual, invited several single male co-workers, along with some other friends for dinner. We had a large group and even with all the leaves in the table, I knew it would be full. As dinner time approached, John started seating people as I finished up the last dishes for our feast. I walked into the dining room with another dish to set on the table and the only people that he had seated were my sister squeezed in between two of his single friends! I didn’t say anything but it was just a little too obvious.

My other favorite Thanksgiving was the year of the ‘Great Earthquake of 1998.’  We, as usual, had a large group of people and several tables set up for dinner. When the first quake hit, everyone headed for door jambs, etc., but everyone was ok. (BTW my sister was visiting that year, too, this time with her husband, and being from L.A., they put on a brave front, saying this was nothing compared to their earthquakes, but they were the first ones to run to the door jambs!)

Anyway, by the time dinner was ready, we had had a couple of rollers and everyone decided to squeeze around the one big table. It was like everyone suddenly got closer and didn’t want to be at the other tables! It made for a crowded but really fun Thanksgiving.”

Least-Favorite Thanksgiving Day Foods

Lauren Brooks - My least favorite Thanksgiving food is probably sweet potatoes. I don’t hate them, but I don’t love them either.

Jim Dyar - “Green bean casserole. And I’ve made it for Thanksgiving. But it should be outlawed.”

Carla Jackson - “Dark turkey meat and oyster stuffing … oyster anything, actually.”

Robert Rock - “Least favorite Thanksgiving food?- there isn’t any!”

Paul Shigley - “Yams. Yuck!!”

Barbara Stone - “Green bean casserole ~ yuck!”

Marilyn Traugott - “Pumpkin pie. It may be seasonal but if I’m going to ’save room’ for dessert, it’s going to have to be something else.”