“Thanksgiving at Fishlake” is the last of seven Thanksgiving articles received in fall of 2023 from Wayne High School students. Five of them were published in The Byway’s most recent November paper. All will be featured online.
The Thanksgiving tradition that my family has had for about four years now is going up to Fishlake the day before Thanksgiving. There is a large cabin close to the marina that my grandparents try to rent for about 20 members of the family to stay in. The night before, we just eat a regular dinner that consists of some sort of grilled meat. After dinner, we play board games and cards until everybody finds their way to bed.
On Thanksgiving morning, we wake up around 8:30 a.m. and eat a large breakfast, usually consisting of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. After breakfast, some of the family goes fishing, and some people just stay around and play football or wiffleball.
Around lunchtime is when the cooking starts to commence. The meal typically consists of two different types of turkey, lots of sides, salads and dessert for when we finish eating. Before eating begins, we all gather around the table and hold hands while my grandpa says a prayer.
After the prayer, everyone starts to load their plates with food. There are two types of turkeys available, one that my dad injects with flavor and fries in his turkey fryer. The other turkey that is available is the one that my grandpa makes. The sides that we have are usually stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, and some ham. Most of the family doesn’t take much salad, so there ends up being quite a bit leftover. The desserts are usually some Jello and my grandma’s delicious brownies.
Soon after we finish, everyone is pretty tired from eating, so we take a break from activities and settle down to watch some football. Around the time of dinner, we usually have lots of leftovers, so that is what everybody eats. Once dinner is over, everybody usually goes back to watching football, while the younger kids run around and play tag or something like that.
After the football game ends, the younger children usually go to bed while the adults and teenagers stay up playing more cards or other board games.
The following morning, everyone is slow to wake up, and breakfast is not very planned, so everyone just eats some sort of leftovers. Some of the family that lives further away leaves soon after breakfast, while the others hang around until around lunchtime. The final day is mainly just for saying goodbye and maybe playing a little bit of football.
After everyone leaves, my family usually fishes or hikes for a little while because we have the shortest drive to home. Once we get home, we wrap up the day by eating a dinner full of leftovers, finally going to sleep in our own beds with fun memories of the weekend spent with family and friends.
– by Miles Hinkle (10th) Wayne High School
Feature image caption: Colorful Turkey has friends among all the turkeys. She plays hide and seek. She loves Halloween and dressed up as Princess Peach this year. Courtesy of Claire M. (2nd) Escalante.
Find even more minute details of a good Thanksgiving season in “The Little Things” by Timber Wood.