On Thanksgiving, a little song always comes back to me from my childhood. "Over the River and Through the Wood" is a song about Thanksgiving. I know it has morphed into a sentimental Christmas song but if you read the words, it is actually about Thanksgiving. As a matter of fact, according to Wikipedia, the actual title is "The New-England Boy's Song About Thanksgiving". These are the verses that I remember...
Over the river, and through the wood,
To Grandfather's house we go;
the horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river, and through the wood—
oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes and bites the nose
as over the ground we go.
Over the river, and through the wood—
and straight through the barnyard gate,
We seem to go extremely slow,
it is so hard to wait!
Over the river, and through the wood—
now Grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!
We usually didn't have snow and certainly didn't have a sleigh, but I can still remember the anticipation and excitement when we finally drove up to my grandparent's houses. At Momo and Popo Riggs' house, there would be cousins by the dozens and the little house at 1310 West Main would be filled with laughter, wonderful smells and general chaos! At Grandma and Grandpa Fox's house east of Crider, the atmosphere would be a little more subdued. Since I was the second youngest grandchild, there usually wasn't very many cousins to play with but there was room outside to wander and explore. And if that got boring, Dad and the uncles were always talking and telling old stories or... watching football on the TV.
These are the memories that fill my mind on Thanksgiving Day.
Now, however, it is different. I am the "Popo"... I am the Grandpa Fox.... In a little while, there will be a white van pull up in the driveway and two little boys will come piling out! They will come through the door looking for Pawpaw and Mayme and then off to their toy room. I know they may not remember everything about today, but hopefully, good memories are being made that they can recall in years to come.
Here are a few pictures of gatherings at the Riggs and Fox households. They may be of Thanksgiving or Christmas (I couldn't really tell) but they are representative of the many meals shared together through the years.
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| Grandma Fox's house at Crider 1972 |
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| Grandma Fox's house on 6th Street 1975 |
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| Momo and Popo's house at 1310 West Main 1968 |
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| Momo and Popo's house at 1310 West Main. Probably Christmas Late 60's |
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| Our House 2019 - Chinese Thanksgiving Dinner! Cashew Chicken and all the trimmings! |
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| Grandma and Grandpa Fox's house at Crider. 1969 |
