There’s lots to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. The election is over and the phone has stopped ringing. We had about a quarter of an inch of rain; for that we are most grateful.
We will have family in for Thanksgiving and since everybody sits down at several Thanksgiving feasts, and since Sam doesn’t care for turkey, we dream up some odd nontraditional meal each year. Anyone who wants to cook something is welcomed to the kitchen.
Apparently, the average person consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day, and that’s enough to gain 1.3 pounds; 3,500 calories equal one pound of fat. So, one way or another, we Bardwells will try not to be simply average.
The “Lower Poudre Press” newsletter arrived from Bellevue, Colorado, and with it some facts about Thanksgiving and turkeys that seemed timely to share:
The first-ever TV dinner was produced in the U.S. by Swanson and was made up of turkey, cornbread dressing, frozen peas and sweet potatoes. It had been a poor year for sales and Swanson had a surplus of frozen turkeys. The meal sold for 98 cents.
The first meal on the moon eaten by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin was a packet of roasted turkey, even though it wasn’t Thanksgiving.
In the U.S. annually, 250 million turkeys are raised. Subtract 100 million people — vegans, vegetarians, infants, or those who might not want turkey and every single person in the U.S. could have a whole turkey every year. That’s a lot of turkey.
The traditional green bean casserole with fried onion topping and mushroom soup was created by Campbell Soup Co. in 1955.
George Washington created a national day of thanksgiving, but it didn’t have a set date until Abraham Lincoln, 74 years later, set the last Thursday in November as the official day for giving thanks.
In the U.S., there are three towns named Turkey. Turkey, Texas; Turkey Creek, Louisiana; and Turkey, North Carolina.
In Frazee, Minnesota, the D.W.O. Fiberglass Co. spent 2,000 hours constructing a 5,000 pound, 20-foot tall turkey. “Big Tom” is the largest man-made turkey in the world. Frazee celebrates “Turkey Day” annually, complete with the Miss Frazee Pageant, car shows, tractor tracks, corn feed, games, prizes and food.
The first Macy’s Day Parade, formerly known as the Thanksgiving Day Parade, was held in Newark, New Jersey, in 1924. For the first few years, instead of floats live animals were borrowed from the Central Park Zoo.
Since 1934, the Detroit Lions play on Thanksgiving Day. Early in the Lions’ first season in Detroit, the team could only draw a crowd of 15,000. Lions owner George A. Richards convinced NBC to broadcast the game against the undefeated Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day. The 26,000-seat stadium was sold out and the Lions have played on Thanksgiving Day ever since.
That being said, may all of you and those you love have a wonder-filled Thanksgiving holiday.
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