"Turkey Day"

Thanksgiving, or as we knew it best way back then, "Turkey Day", was the beginning of the "holiday season". To kids this meant it was about one month left to be good until Christmas.
The center of the day was my grandmother's kitchen, the busiest place in the house. The smells and the sights were only the beginning of the orgy we knew as the Thanksgiving feast. The bird was the center of the meal. No frozen, prepackaged gobbler with Stove Top Dressing. The main course was fresh and wrapped in white butcher's paper. The stuffing was started several days ahead when bread was pulled into small pieces, enough to fill the large roasting pan, and left to dry out. Mouth-watering pumpkin and minced meat pies were baked and cooling on the long kitchen table. While the peeled potatoes were soaking in water ready to be mashed and smothered in giblet gravy. Fresh cranberries were rinsed and soon to be cooked and fashioned into salad and topped with Nanny's home-made pineapple sauce. Then there was the marshmallow-topped yams and Waldorf salad. Yum...even now one salivates thinking of those wonderful meals.
Our windows were tastefully decorated with mimeographed pictures of pilgrims, Indians, and autumn leaves colored with good old Crayolas(basic colors, at that) and the hand-traced turkeys that we had been making at school as we learned about that first Thanksgiving.
Beds were made up for my uncle and aunt from Rainelle, WV and his two little girls who would make the long trip up state (pre-interstate highways). Other family would file in just in time for the football games.
The Christmas parades on TV were exciting, even in black and white and were the only programs my sister and I were interested in that day. Following the parade the living room was
dominated by the guys and football. The women shooed the kids out of the kitchen so they wouldn't be "in-the-way". It was usually warm enough to don coats and mittens and play tag with the cousins or rake huge piles of crunchy leaves and gleefully take turns jumping into them. The smell of wood-burning in fireplaces in the chilly air still brings back to mind those November afternoons.
Finally there was that anticipated call from mom to come in...dinner was ready! This is one time there was no dawdling when you were called for dinner. Walking into that warm kitchen , rosy-cheeked from the cold and the outdoor activity, we were greeted by the delectable odors of the Thanksgiving meal. Baked yeast-raised rolls, percolated coffee, turkey and dressing and pumpkin pie made up the mixture of smells that we nostalgically remember as the "turkey day" meal.
When the family gathered around the table and we bowed our heads in prayer we were truly thankful for the wonderful meal shared with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, and siblings.
Even today as many of the places around the table have long been empty, the thoughts of the holiday center around the good food and loving family. Thanksgiving is a true American celebration. Again whatever neighborhood, be it Woodsdale, Elm Grove, Triadelphia, South Wheeling or more....America in the 50s and 60s...a wonderful place and time to be a "kid". Have a "Happy Turkey Day."

Take me Back to the Sixties

Check out this neat link:

http://objflicks.com/TakeMeBackToTheSixties.htm

interesting and fun remembering

Woodsdale School 4th grade: High School Graduation Year 1962

10 questions about Wheeling

10 Questions about Wheeling:

1. What was the name of the red headed man who walked up Wheeling Creek each morning from Benwood to find golf balls at Oglebay and Wheeling Country Club.

2. What do Larry Dezio, Chris Smith and Rick Asmus have in common?

3. Who was Alma Henderson?

4. In the early 60's, what was the name of the hamburger place on the corner of National Road and Edgington Lane?

5. What was 'Big Bill' Lias real last name?

6. In the book, “Captain's Courageous” (1897) what about Wheeling was mentioned?

7. What was Linsly School called in 1814?

8. Who was the first coach of the Wheeling Nailers?

9. What was the nickname for Pogues Run Road?

10. What football honor was bestowed on Chuck Howley that no other NFL player has received?

John Hershey

Fall's children

Autumn in the Quinn family meant going back to school and playing in the leaves. The latter activity involved raking all the leaves from the maples that lined the street in front of our house into BIG piles and then either sorting them into "rooms' or with the help of a small fence, building a "fort". In the fort, you could get down behind the leaves and jump up to startle passersby as they strolled down the sidewalk...great fun. However, our mother believed that without a doubt the polio epidemic we were experiencing in the 50's was tied to playing in the leaves so was not happy with our antics. Polio was not just another scary childhood disease...it KILLED children or left them cripples. Lining up to get a vaccination when it was finally available paled in comparison to the dreaded "iron lung" that we were shown pictures of.
As for going back to school, we were usually featured in the local paper for having the most kids returning to school in one family. When I think now of what it must have cost my father to buy all those new shoes, coats, school supplies, etc...I can't believe he did it! Funny thing is, in those days children were taught at a very early age not to even ask for fribbles like ipods, cell phones, computers, etc...if you couldn't eat it or wear it...YOU DIDN'T NEED IT! Ahhhhhhhhhh, the good old days.

A Trip to the Dentist

Going to the dentist was a torture as a child. I remember one particular trip with my father to see Dr. Hennen. First, the waiting room where we were given mercury to play with. Yes, that's right! One of the most dangerous elements on the planet. We would roll it around in our hands and marvel at the incredible silver sheen it left on our skin. No one cautioned us about dropping it...it was considered harmless. I wonder if mercury poisoning accountants for my current eccentricities.
Dr. Hennen was very OLD!! His hands shook so badly that you feared he might miss your mouth all together and extract something necessary from your nose or another orifice. On this particular trip he informed my dad that my teeth were so crooked that I needed braces. As my dad explained that he had nine children and could not afford braces I secretly cheered. Years later when I could afford to pay for braces myself, I asked my dentist about getting them (I was in my 20's) and he said, "Look at my teeth, they are crooked and I had braces!"...so I guess that was not a recommendation.
Times have changed, but a trip to the dentist is still no Strawberry Festival.

Nice Neighborhood!
I have so many fond memories of Woodsdale. To repeat a phrase that you have read over and over again, it really was a great place to grow up. Actually, to be more honest about it, it was a great place to be a kid!
We roller skated up and down the street (sometimes we even stayed on the sidewalk); we rode our bikes everywhere (or I would hitch a ride with my brother, Jim, whenever I could); we visited each others’ homes to play (I guess today that would be called a play date?!); and as mentioned by others, we played outside all-l-l-l day long and up until the street lights came on at dusk.
We lived next door to the McCluskey’s. It was Taylor, Judy, Kathy, and then Miriam and Olivia. My poor mom. The McCluskey family kept growing and I kept asking my mom when we were going to have a baby. It didn’t happen, so fortunately for me, I am the baby of our family! I’ll bet I drove my mom nuts, though. I probably drove Mrs. McCluskey nuts, too. Actually, I probably drove several mothers nuts! I guess I was lucky some of them liked me. I don’t remember being particularly bad. That could be because I have a poor memory or because I have such high regard for myself. Listening was always a challenge for me; I’m getting a little better in my old age (I think). I do still react though when someone says, “you can’t do that!” Sure I can; watch me.
I remember riding the bus down town to shop at Stone and Thomas. I have fond recollections of walking through the Market with my grandmother on our way to go shopping. I remember waving to a Santa on the top of Wheeling hill (across from the statue of the Indian). Does anyone else remember that? I mentioned it to a couple of people who looked at me like I had grown up in another state. Please let me know; it is a very vivid memory for me. I always had a thing for Santa. I still do. To this day, I have my picture taken with Santa Claus every year!
So much has changed, but I go back to the old neighborhood and so much has stayed the same. The homes have been kept up so well and it is a joy to go back and walk around the neighborhood. It brings back wonderful memories. Thanks to all the current home owners for keeping our legacy alive! I wonder if the kids who live there now play together as often as we did and if they enjoy it as much as we did. I hope that they do so that they, too, can have pleasant memories when they are old (I mean older!).