The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't

The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't.

This story takes place in the year 1948. In 1948 life was a whole lot different that it is today. TV was just starting to come about, and there was no Rock and Roll music. This was the year that Truman beats Dewey, confounding pollsters and newspapers. Also on November 12,1948 Japanese premier Hideki Tojo was sentence to death by the war crimes Tribunal.

This story is about a boy named Joe, and he would be seven years old on Thanksgiving day. The story takes place in a small Northern New England town called Fallville. In those days there were no Supermarkets, just small markets were you bought all your groceries. Joe's father always bought his turkey at the turkey farm on Wednesday before Thanksgiving day. Joe's father's name was Frank Day. The Turkey farm closed at 4:00PM on Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving, and was closed Thanksgiving day. This story starts on Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day. Joe woke up as usual around 7:00AM. It looked like a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and it was cold around 20 degrees. In those days the weathermen didn't know how to forecast the weather like they do today. After breakfast Aunt Jane and Joe went to buy some last minute groceries for Thanksgiving day.

Joe's aunt was a very pretty teenage girl who had just turned sixteen, and her name was Jane. The road to the market was a dirt road and Joe had to walk about a mile to get to the market. Joe and his aunt got to the market around 1:00 o'clock. The Market was a small store were the owner would get the groceries for them. They only needed milk and bread that day. Joe's aunt saw a boy she know at the store, and she asked Joe to wait outside the store for a little while. When you are seven years old time goes by very slow. Joe was sitting on the bench at the front of the market and he wanted to get home. Joe wasn't paying any attention to any of the people coming and going in and out of the store. The weather was turning colder and it started to snow. Joe was starting to get a little scared, so he looked in the market to see if he could find his aunt. Joe didn't see his aunt anywhere. By this time it was snowing much harder,and Joe decided to walk home. Joe came to a turn in the road and he wasn't quite sure which way to go. Joe decided to take the left turn. The snow was starting to get deep, and he wasn't able to see very far in front of himself.

Around the same time Jane came out of the market and didn't see Joe any place. She didn't telephone home right away, but started to look for Joe. By now it was starting to get late it was around 2:00 PM, and Jane went back to the Market to use the pay phone. Jane looked for a nickel in her pocket book, but didn't have any money left. Mr.Walton, the Market owner, loaned her a nickel for the pay phone. Mr. Walton knew Joe's family very well so he trusted her to repay the nickel. Jane called Joe's father and he was quite upset.

Joe's father went out to start his 1938 Ford. The car started up all right, but he noticed he had a flat tire. By the time Joe's father fixed the tire it was 3:00PM.

By this time it was getting very cold and snowy and Joe didn't know were he was walking. It was a good thing that Joe turned around and started back to the fork in the road. Joe's father drove back to the store to pick up Jane. It was very slow going for Joe's father, because the defroster in the car wasn't working very well,and it was snowing. Joe's father told Mr. Walton they might not have a turkey this year, but finding Joe was more important that turkey for the family on Thanksgiving day. They started to drive home when they saw Joe lying in the snow bank. Joe was crying and very cold but he was ok. They all drove home and by then it was 4:00PM. Joe's father called the Turkey Farm, but it was closed.

Joe's father said its too late now to get the Turkey, because the Farm was closed. Joe's Father called Mr. Walton at the Market, and he said he was all out of Turkeys by 3:00PM. Joe's father said it's ok we are all safe at home. It was 6"00 o'clock by now, and Joe heard his neither drive up. Joe's father went out to meet the neither, and he said he had killed two Turkeys that day. Sam the neither asked Joe's father if he would like one of them. Of course Joe's father said yes. Joe's mother and father both cleaned the turkey. They had to take out all the feathers. So that's how Joe and his family got their Turkey that Thanksgiving day.

Sam had stopped in to the Market to buy some last minute groceries, and Mr. Walton told him all about Joe getting lost and the turkey.

The next day Joe's Grandmother walked to there house in the snow and they all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. That was the best Turkey Joe and his family ever ate. It didn't stop snowing for three days. Joe's Grandmother stayed the whole time. By then Joe's father was very happy to see Joe's grandmother go home, and that was the Thanksgiving that almost wasn't.

Thanksgiving Story