A Memorable Thanksgiving                                                                         November 21, 2019

I was born right at the end of the depression. Pop was the pastor of a small church in a small town. Mom had taught school but was not teaching now with Danny Frank being 18 months old and me just born.

 

Our white house faced the railroad and was a convenient place for hobos to stop and ask for a meal. Some would offer to help split wood or do some chores to repay for the meal. Mom’s Christian commitment was that she would feed anyone who asked and many did.

 

Money was very tight and expenditures was watched carefully.

 

The fellowship at the church was great and people enjoyed getting together at other times in addition to worshipping. So it was not unusual to have people at our house or visit someone else.

 

Following the Sunday evening services we were often with the Poffs. It was a time for Pop to relax after two sermons. There were games, not just for the children, but for adults, also. There was always something to talk about, jokes to tell and a lot of laughter. 

 

The women would fix something to eat. Sometimes it would be a chicken that a member had donated to the pastor. Other times it would be leftovers from the noon dinner. 

 

Most of the time, it was baloney. It was baloney sandwiches with fresh tomatoes from the garden. It was fried baloney that smelled so good as the aroma filtered through the house. It was baloney creatively sliced, diced, chopped or mixed. 

 

Years later, as Pop was reminiscing about the good old days, I asked, “Why did you eat so much baloney?”

 

The simple answer was, “It was the cheapest meat we were able to buy. We could purchase a tube of that compressed meat or we could ask the butcher to put it on his little cutting machine and slice it, thick or thin, according to our desire.”

 

The bond between the two families grew strong.  It lasted many years as my folks kept in touch as we moved and they relocated. We would visit them occasionally when we could work it out. We both ended up in Memphis with us on the north side and them on the south side. Mr. Poff had started working for a saw mill and moved to better jobs with bigger mills. 

 

When I was in college I returned home for the Thanksgiving holidays. 

 

Mom informed me, “We’re going to have thanksgiving with the Poffs this year.” 

 

“That’s okay with me.” I said. “Where are they now?”

 

“They live here in Memphis. He is the head manager for a big lumber company that supplies a lot of businesses throughout the South.”

 

Some nestalgia set in as she told me about the good times with the Poffs at Nettleton. She couldn’t help but mention how poor both families were and how they had still enjoyed life. Then she told me how successful Mr. Poff had been and how they now owned a wonderful house and had an excellent income.

 

So we arrived at their house in a luxurious suburb of Memphis. Hugs were given all around and the previous bonding reinforced. They took us on a tour of the house so that Mom and Pop could rejoice with them in God’s blessings. There was time to sit and talk before the meal so that Pop and Mr. Poff could share some of their own old guys tales. I enjoyed hearing them and laughing with them.

 

Then it came time for the Thanksgiving meal. With the grown up children from the two families, the 10 of us sat around a long oak table set with fine china. The yams, okra, and corn-on-the-cob were already on the table. The smell of hot raised rolls filled the large dining room. There was brown gravy to put on the mashed potatoes. An empty place was left in the middle for the turkey we could smell cooking in the oven. Other vegetables and trimmings surrounded the empty spot. 

 

We joined hands as Mr. Poff said, “It is our privilege today to have in our home the best pastor and friend and his wife we have ever had. We’re glad the boys are able to join with our family in this celebration and thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for as our Lord has poured rich blessings upon our heads. The greatest blessings are family and long time friends who shared difficult times but still experienced God’s blessings. I’m going to ask Brother Duffer to lead us in a prayer of thanksgiving.”

 

Pop took his time in prayer to thank the Lord for the Poffs and their friendship over the years, and for the blessings God has given. The prayer was much longer than I thought was necessary with the smell of the rolls causing my saliva glands to start working overtime. Finally Pop said, “In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

 

We all said, “Amen!” and began to sit down.

 

Mrs. Poff said, “Let’s eat!”

 

At that, a maid who had stood with her hands folded in front of her white apron, left the dining room for the kitchen. 

 

As we were finishing putting the napkins in our laps and getting ready to start filling our plates, the maid came in carrying a large covered silver platter. 

 

“That must be a huge bird,” I thought.

 

She very carefully set is down for it must have been heavy. She carefully placed it in the middle of the dining table and the guests. She straightened up and looked at Mrs. Poff. 

 

“Are you ready to eat?” Mrs. Poff asked everyone present.

 

With that she nodded to the maid who carefully reached over to remove the shining cover. All eyes were focused on the large tray.

 

As the lid came off we were surprised to see slices and slices of baloney! Not just covering the bottom, but round and round and on top of each other, stacked high, almost to the top of the cover. 

 

Some of us laughed. Some made a little shout. Some shed a few tears.

 

Then the maid brought in the turkey, but the real meal was the blessing of memories shared.

 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving with family and good friends.

 

Psalm 100:4 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”