I grew up in Aspinwall, a suburban town just north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Thanksgiving Day brings back a jumble of memories from the 1950's.
In our house my Dad was a cook in the Army and he always took over the Thanksgiving turkey and how it was cooked. There was never any problem with that because in the 1950's Thanksgiving was a true holiday and nobody and I mean nobody worked Thanksgiving Day.
The stores were not open on Thanksgiving and if you forgot something or were out of something you had to borrow it from a neighbor because there wasn't anywhere to shop for it. One Thanksgiving, as a young mother, I had forgotten something and I drove around three boroughs looking for a store to buy it. To my surprise, there was just one shop open on North Canal Street in Sharpsburg that carried produce.
My grandfather, was always in charge of the pies. No one could make a better crust than my grandfather and I always judged a pie from my youth on by the crust and not the filling. He started early in the morning so that the oven was empty in time for the Turkey to be put into it. He would make pumpkin pies and a mincemeat pie. I never tasted the mincemeat because I was a picky eater and didn't like the looks of it at that time. To this day, I couldn't tell you what a mincemeat pie tastes like.
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| Not our A&P but very similar store from the 50's |
We had an A&P grocery store in Aspinwall and my Mom would send me with my Dad to do the shopping for what was needed. I remember that my Dad's brother, Uncle Bill, worked as a butcher at that store even though he lived in Pitcairn which was clear on the other side of the city. The pies needed evaporated milk and spices. My mother didn't make her own cranberries and jellied cranberries were bought in a can. I remember that I always had to have cranberries with poultry or beef because as I said, I was a picky eater.
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| truck similar to Jim and Tony's that came around the streets twice a week |
The stuffing needed celery, onions and green pepper. Sometimes she would buy the produce from Jim and Tony who would drive a produce truck through our borough selling fresh vegetable. She also bought the potatoes from him.
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| Butcher Counter similar to McCafferty's |
The turkey was always bought from McCafferty's Butcher Shop, which was in Beck's Grocery Store on Center Avenue, around the corner from our house. My grandfather wasn't rich but he always contributed to the table by buying the meat that was being served for Sundays or holidays.
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| Stuffing cooking in the skillet in batches |
My mother made her stuffing the night before Thanksgiving from crust of bread that she had saved in a paper bag and then broke by hand into little pieces to be sauteed in the iron skillet in batches. As we got older my brother and I would help by breaking up the stale pieces of bread crust. She would put the batches into the large soup pot and then stored it on the back porch which was always cold enough to serve as an extra refrigerator for my Dad to stuff the bird in the morning.
Thanksgiving was a day of anticipation and there was nothing for us kids to do but wait for the deliciousness that was happening in the kitchen. Grace, My friend, and I would go for long walks on Thanksgiving just to get ready for the big meal we were anticipating. I remember that Thanksgiving was usually the day of the first snowfall in our area and Grace and I would walk to the Box Factory and find a sheet of discarded cardboard and slide down the side of the on ramp to the Highland Park Bridge. That was the closest we could come to an actual sled ride when the snow was just a dusting and to us it was loads of fun.
When we got home the house smelled glorious with turkey. My Dad always got the honor of carving the turkey with my Mom's silver carving knife and fork that came from her mother before her. Dad preferred dark meat but my plate had to have white meat.
Dinner started with Grace to thank God for the abundance of what were were about to eat. With Grace being said, we devoured several rounds of filling our plates with the simple meal on the table. Turkey with cranberries, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn were the meal of the day. Sometimes, broccoli, cooked carrots or peas were added. We never had room for pie after dinner and it was always saved for later in the evening. I don't know why but as soon as dinner was over, I found myself sound asleep on the couch.
That's was Thanksgiving from my youth. I'm sure everyone has similar stories to tell.
