A Mill Village Thanksgiving Remembered
By Bill Shepard
The long awaited holiday had arrived. It was the first since school had begun back in September. The kind old principal had made a lot to do about the two days we would have off to celebrate the Thanksgiving holidays. Already I was thinking about the longer holidays that would be arriving soon. As usual, I was waiting to hear him announce that school would be out early on this day.
The two big fat hogs, grunting in the pen could not know that was in store for them as the Thanksgiving holiday approached. It seemed such a shot time ago that they were little piglets and playing in the straw bed that Dad and I had prepared for them. IT was my delight to watch them chase around in the sun, squealing and burying themselves in the straw.
Each year, as far as I could remember, and early in the springtime, Dad and I would take a ride through the country nearby in search of two pigs to buy. Dad always seemed to know some places to go. It was fun to hear Dad and the farmer go back and forth as to the price to be paid for the pigs. Having settled on the amount to be paid, the pigs would be placed in a burlap bag and we would be on our way home. Through the long summer months ahead, I would pull butter-weeds for the pigs and help in a small way to care for them. By winter, the pigs would have changed into large fat hogs. The meat and the lard from the two would last well into the summer months ahead.
IT was Thanksgiving morning! It was still dark outside and I had awakened. I could hear voices coming from the small kitchen and I knew that Mama was preparing an early breakfast. Outside I could hear voices also, and I knew what was about to happen. I hurriedly dressed into warm clothing and headed for the kitchen. Dad had already eaten his breakfast and had joined the man he had hired to help with the hog-killing that was about to happen at the Shepard’s house on this Thanksgiving Day. This year could have been any one of the late 1920’s or 1930’s.
I knew that already a big fire had been kindled around the black wash-pot that had been filled with water. A lot of hot water would be needed to scald the hair on the hog that would soon be brought from the pen. A large barrel lying nearby would be filled with hot water and the dead animal would be placed inside and turned over and over to make sure that the hair was loosened and could be removed easily. If the temperature was not just right, the hair on the hog would not loosen and that would make the process much harder. The man Dad had hired to help had a reputation of being an expert in how to butcher hogs.
I went outside and stood shivering in the cold and waited to hear the sounds that would son be coming from the pen where the hogs were. Any moment now there would be the sound of a rifle shot and a squeal, and I would know that the dead animal was on the way to the house. I did not have long to wait.
More of the neighbors arrived to help in the process and with the help of them all it was soon over. The helpers would have all gone, each carrying with them a small portion of the hog that had been butchered. The fat from the hog would be cooked into lard. That would take another day. The fat would be cut into small pieces and cooked in the same wash-pot that had been used earlier in the process.
The fresh pork, sweet potato pies, collard greens, and hot cornbread would make a great Thanksgiving feast at the Shepard’s house.
Seated around the large table, the family waited for Dad to give thanks for the food that had been provided. That being over, the feast would begin and another Thanksgiving Day would become history. It was a day to remember!
As another Thanksgiving Day approaches, I remember those of the past, and I am thankful. On this Thanksgiving Day we in America we have so much to be thankful for! While a large portion of the world is reeling from the unrest and wars within, here in America we are spared the sufferings we see and hear about.
If you are in need of a reason to be thankful, you might consider the following, which was copied from a local Florida newspaper:
If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world’s population!
If you have those things, plus some money in the bank, and in your wallet, spare change in a dish somewhere, you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy! Think about it!
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive through the week.
IF you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pains of starvation, you are ahead of the 500 million people of the world. You should be feeling pretty good about yourself by now~
If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment or arrest, you are more blessed than 3 billion people in the world.
If your parents are still alive and still married, you are rare even in these United States.
If you hold up your head, with a smile on your face, and are truly thankful, you are blessed, because the majorities that can, do not.
If you can hold someone’s hand, hug them, or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed, because you can offer them a healing touch.
Mr. Shepard is a native of Darlington, S.C., and a current resident of Piedmont, S.C. He is the author of “Mill Town Boy” and “Bruised”. He has been sharing his tales of growing up in Darlington for decades, and we are delighted to share them each week. His mailing address for cards and letters is: Bill Shepard 324 Sunny Lane, Piedmont, S.C., 29673.