Historically Speaking — Thanksgivings of McCleary’s past

A monthly column about McCleary’s past and present.

This is a clip from the November 25, 1998 dinner:

“McCleary hotel continues to hosts McCleary Chamber of Commerce’s annual Thanksgiving dinner.

Penny Challstedt, co-owner of the Old McCleary Hotel, serves guests at the McCleary Chamber of Commerce’s annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Janis Aaron Moore, dinner coordinator, gave a short presentation to dinner guests and thanked the community for its work this year. The chamber presented awards to Lou and Sandra Brownfield, who have been heavily involved in the development of the McCleary Museum, and to Rachel Hook and Barbara Lamb, cofounders of the Bassett/Lamb Committee Against Violence.”

This year the dinner is being held on Nov. 17. That is the day of my deadline for the paper, so I can’t tell you any details about it. I’m sure there will be coverage in next week’s paper. I do know that the Chamber of Commerce is meeting at the McCleary Museum at 5 p.m., an hour before the dinner, to tour the historic site.

Simpson turkeys

In November 1949, Simpson Timber Company gave out Thanksgiving turkeys to all employees. It was the 29th annual turkey give-away. Some 1,800 turkeys were given to eligible employees. To be eligible for a turkey you had to be employed prior to April 1 of that year. There were exceptions to this procedure. Single employees who were employed prior to April 1, 1949, would be given a special dinner and free board on Thanksgiving Day.

One turkey per household, that means if two people were working at Simpson, but lived in the same household, they were to receive one turkey.

The turkeys came from Washington farmers. The Pacific Northwest’s broad-breasted bronze turkeys were considered the nation’s best. Hundreds of thousands of turkeys were shipped annually to all parts of the country.

Turkeys for Simpson families were sorted and packaged according to size, the larger birds going to larger families. Accounting office employees worked weeks in advance of Thanksgiving determining eligible employees and placing names on tags which were attached to the turkey.

The company’s Thanksgiving custom dates back to times when men worked on Thanksgiving Day and were served turkey in the cookhouse. The men who went home to their families didn’t get in on the free turkey, so the late Mark E. Reed, then president, gave them birds to take home. The custom grew right along with the company’s family of employees.

While readers are enjoying my column on or after Thanksgiving this year, they still have Christmas coming. Maybe you’d like to try a recipe from the past:

Mrs. Southgate’s pumpkin pie

3 cups (or one can) of pumpkin

¾ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon *

1 cup sugar

3 level tablespoons flour

2 or 3 eggs (depending on how many you can afford)

3 cups milk

Bake slowly one hour

*Nutmeg and ginger may be added if desired.

Cranberry pie

Line a dish with plain paste, then fill it with uncooked cranberries; add a half cup of molasses and 4 tablespoonsful of sugar. Cover with an upper crust and bake in a quick oven for thirty minutes.

Green currant pie

Line an inch pie dish with good pie crust, sprinkle over the bottom 2 heaping tablespoonsful sugar and 2 of flour (or 1 or cornstarch) mix; then pour in 1 pint green currants, washed clean, and 2 tablespoons currant jelly; sprinkle with 4 heaping tablespoonful’s sugar, and add 2 tablespoonful’s cold water; cover, and bake 15 or 20 minutes.

Potato crust

Boil and mash a dozen medium sized potatoes, add 1 good teaspoonful of salt, 2 tablespoonfuls of cold butter and half a cupful milk or cream. Stiffen with flour sufficient to roll out. Nice for the tops of meat pies.

Mince meat pie

2 pounds lean beef 1 nutmeg, grated

1 pound chopped suet ½ teaspoon ground mace

4 pounds tart apples 2 oranges

6 cups sugar 2 lemons

3 pounds currants ½ pound citron

2 pounds raisins 1 tablespoon salt

Stew beef in as little water as possible until quite tender. Cool and chop into fine pieces. Add beef suet, chopped fine, and apples, pared, cored and chopped, sugar, currants, raisins, spices, orange and lemon juice, grated rind of the oranges and of 1 lemon, chopped citron, and salt. Mix thoroughly and cook 1 hour. Pack in clean jars. Seal immediately and store in a cool place. Use one jar for one pie.

Linda Thompson is the editor of the McCleary Museum Newsletter. She has been a volunteer at the museum since 1990.