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Well here it was November again! School was going well and my favorite family holiday was approaching. Thanksgiving! This was the start of the holiday season. The Christmas lights in Bethlehem would be lit and everything would turn into a fairyland. One thing I wouldn’t miss this year again would be that horrid turkey in the butcher’s back yard! Thank heavens he was gone. But his “lady” was still around. She was friendly and ate anything we kids threw over to her. Maybe that’s why she was friendly because we took the time to stop and feed and talk to her.
It was the Monday before Thanksgiving and Grammy told me that mom would be home Wednesday. I was happy but with mom came problems. She was so use to being with the people in the state capitol that things got changed at home for us. We had to have matching this, and matching that, and the tablecloth just so. What was wrong with the way Grammy did it? It’s not like we ate from paper plates or chipped china! (Were paper plates even invented then?) Grammy’s table always looked nice!
: Well so far mom had managed to replace our glasses with a matched set! Get new linen napkins, (Grammy was afraid to use them) and now she was starting on the dishes. Oh well when that fight started I would be in one of three places! Nina’s, the cellar or in my room. Depended on the shouting level!
Pop, Grammy and I walked down to Third St to the market a few days before Thanksgiving to get the turkey. It was a fun day. It had snowed so I was bundled up like an Eskimo! We got a nice turkey and Grammy said not too big since it only would be us maybe 20 lbs. That turkey was a beauty! I couldn’t wait to wrap my mouth around the wing!
We started home and stopped at Abrams Deli and got some salami and rye bread. He made sandwiches for us right there! We even got a cup of hot coffee “on the house.” Mr. Abrams joked and asked if anybody was inside the big package, he meant me of course and we all laughed. Always a good time in his store. After we ate we started up the hill for home. By this time it was really snowing. But we made it all right.
It snowed all night and in the morning it was deep! Yep right up to my shoulders. . I went out into the yard and played with my sled. It was just an old box but it was all mine and we had the yard for sledding. Of course the kids with sleds made fun of my old cardboard box and me. But it was my box! They all hung on the fence and laughed. But I didn’t care. Pretty soon “Binky” my only friend came into the yard and pop gave her a box too and we had a great time. The day flew by. That night we had hot chicken soup for dinner and warm homemade bread. Pop had to go to the mill for the 11 to 7 shift and we worried. We had no phone for him to call us so we had to wait until morning to see if he was all right.
The next day Uncle Mike brought pop home with a message. Mom couldn’t get out of Harrisburg because of the snow. Now I could not understand why trains couldn’t go in the snow? Well she would be home as soon as she could. Unc left and we had breakfast. I went to the living room to color in my coloring books. No playing outside today it started to snow again.
It was Thanksgiving finally and boy that turkey smelled good already. I came downstairs and the grandparents were in the kitchen. It was sure warm out there. The old wood stove was burning away and Grammy even had the porch door open and it was warm out there. Those old wood stoves were great. I got my breakfast and just ate slow and easy. Didn’t feel like going up to my cold room to get dressed. Pop left the kitchen and came back with my clothes and hung them on the chair to warm up. He was something else! I got dressed and went down to the cellar to play with my kitchen stuff. Pop was in the front cellar doing something. Grammy was in the kitchen cooking away.
It was after noon and no call for lunch. I went upstairs to see what was wrong. I walked into the dining room and a prettier table you couldn’t find anywhere. We even had candles. I said “Grammy I am hungry can I have a sandwich?” She said “No pretty soon we eat!” “How come we have candles on the table?” she just laughed. “Well candles on the table and pop puts the kerosene lamps on the side board and in the kitchen, no lights!” “No electric, how do we listen to the radio tonight now?” “We don’t”
Well that meant pop would read to us from the Slovak paper. Ok by me.
Thanksgiving dinner was good. We ate until we were stuffed. Grammy brought up “chow, pickled beets, pickles and almost everything she canned. That was just for the 3 of us. I think she was hoping someone would come. The snow was still coming down so that meant no visiting either. No “Nina’s” Oh well.
When we got up Friday morning the snow had stopped and the sun was shining. At least I could go outside. The snow was so deep that the roads didn’t get opened until Saturday and that was because the men shoveled. It would be days before the plows would get up to our street. Late Saturday night there was a knock, well more of a kick on the door and pop opened it and they’re stood mom, bag and baggage. I won’t tell you what she said but Grammy told her to stop her cussing!
I walked all the way from the train station with this stuff. Well she had another turkey a fresh one from the farm that was frozen now and a bunch of baked good from a city bakery. We all laughed .She asked what was so funny. Grammy said "go look in the mirror, you look like a snowman".
Never a dull moment in that house, something always going askew! I guess that’s what taught me to “roll with the punches!”
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