This is the day they call thanksgiving. The day we should stop and reflect on the many, many blessings that we all have. Maybe some will think in times like these, what do I have to be thankful for. If you grew up hard like a lot of us did then you’ll know what I mean. Not having money or fancy food and not living in a big expensive house but remember that we did have food, a place to lay our head and above all we had the most important things; love of family and life.

Here is an example of thanksgiving dinner when lane was growing up. It may make you realize that you do have a lot to be thankful for. Lane knows she does.

The day before thanksgiving lane’s daddy would go to the barn and pick out an old fat hen. He killed her there and then brought her home to momma to clean up. She would pour boiling water over the chicken to remove the feathers and then she would hold the chicken over the open fire of the cook stove to singe the pin feathers. Then momma would peel and cook a pumpkin or apples depending on what she had. On Thanksgiving Day she would start early in the morning cooking that chicken on the wood stove and then she would roll out her dough to make her pies. Dinner was ready when it was ready. Be it twelve o’clock or three in the afternoon. Lane’s parents always made sure that the kids had something special to eat on thanksgiving and Christmas and even as a kid they could feel that it was important to them to let them know how much they had to be thankful for.

The rest of the year they had beans and cornbread or taters and cornbread for lunch and supper and maybe both beans and taters if they had plenty. Most of the time it was one or the other and rarely both and seldom did they ever get pie. So they all learned early on that on thanksgiving they did have a lot to be grateful for. All that good food or it seemed really good back then. So if you feel down cause things ain’t as good or as plentiful as they once were and you’ve had to cut back just remember that no matter how bad you think you’ve had it there’s always someone that’s got it a lot worse. Lane knows she does; Happy thanksgiving and do remember to be grateful for what you do have cause you could be eating beans.

Lane here provides a sample of the menu they had for thanksgiving dinner; stewed chicken or chicken and dumplings, mashed taters, green beans, cake of cornbread, apple or pumpkin pie or maybe dried apple stack cake.

The photo is what remains of the house lane grew up in.