THANKSGIVING WITH THE KELLYS

                   THANKSGIVING  WITH  THE  KELLYS

                                         NORMAN  V.  KELLY

 

In case you missed it Thanksgiving is creeping up on your household and for old guys like me that is the harbinger for some walks down memory lane.  Now this was early 1942, my three brothers were already heading for the armed services so my mom wanted to make sure they had some memories to take with them as they entered harms way.

So by then I had ten brothers and sisters, my parents, five, maybe six uncles along with their wives and of course a ton of kids and a grandmother or two.   You know to this day I never learned why they came to our tiny little house way our in the boondocks called ElVista.  We did not even have an indoor bathroom but they still came to us.  I enjoyed all the excitement, the kids, and the wonderful meal with all those pies and cakes.  For me personally I enjoyed that holiday more than Christmas because I knew there was no disappointment coming my way.  Santa did not visit our house way back when I was a little kid, but Thanksgiving was always all I could ask for. My brothers and uncles were all young men and we played basketball in the lot next door and always had a great time.  My mother was the head chef, no doubt of that, but with sisters, aunts and grandmothers there certainly was neither room nor reason to stay in the house.   We often piled in two or three cars and went to the first game over at the stadium which made up the Turkey Day football games.  Some of the older men paid to get in but all the boys managed to make it over the fence.  We were usually cheering for Peoria High School since all my relatives went there. Later my oldest sister and I went to Woodruff but that was a few years later.  I am guilty of pulling up in front of where I used to live to park a moment.  It seems my fondest memories are all connected with Thanksgiving in that old house that burned to the ground in 1950.  All those people; all the laughs the tantalizing aroma of baking turkey and pumpkin pies still linger.  All I have to do now is stare just a bit harder…and remember. Happy Thanksgiving to all the folks in Delavan, Illinois, my favorite little town.                                                  norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net

Editor’s Note:  Norm is a Peoria Historian and author of  A SHADOW OF A NIGHTMARE, a 1938 suspense thriller here in Delavan, Illinois.

 

Sandra:  Since you are kind enough to send me your paper I Thought I would contribute a little thought I Had about Thanksgiving at my house.   Say Hello to Charles….

And Mary Ruth.  Did she stay in town since she retired?   norm