Thanksgiving is a time for traditions both old and new, but even when traditions have changed there’s one thing that remains constant with area residents. Family is always at the heart of it.

 

Mary Torgersen’s family sticks with the traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey, mashed potatoes and the fixings. Her husband, Dan, makes a pecan pie because he doesn’t like pumpkin. 

 

As a child her parents always set up a card table in another room for the kids to work on a Thanksgiving-themed project, like placemats or place cards. As a child, she always thought it was just a fun thing to do, as an adult she realizes they were probably just trying to get the kids out of the way while they cooked the big meal.

 

Torgersen also remembers ice skating and a tradition that she kept with her own family, no one listens to Christmas music until Thanksgiving Day. She was raised with classical music, so the first song they always listened to was Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.

 

Mary Wakeman also remembers ice skating every Thanksgiving when she was growing up. Everyone came to her mom’s house, so she, her cousins and the neighborhood kids would get together and play hockey.

 

This year it’s Wakeman’s turn to host the meal. She’ll be cooking traditional Thanksgiving foods like turkey, corn and sweet potatoes. 

 

“When I don’t have Thanksgiving at my house I miss the smells of cooking,” she said.

 

Jessi Bost’s mom always makes two pumpkin pies. One is eaten at Thanksgiving and she and her two siblings hold a drawing for the chance to take the second pie home.

 

The traditional Thanksgiving feast isn’t what every family follows. Four years ago, Cyrene Bastian and her husband and daughter decided to forgo the turkey and instead put on their bibs and eat crab.

 

“Now all we eat is the crab legs,” she said. “We stopped making the rest of the meal two years ago because it just got in the way of our goal to eat as many crab legs as possible.”

 

Growing up in a family of 10, Bastian said Thanksgiving was like a Norman Rockwell scene with extended family overflowing the table. All the kids would give their chairs to the older family members and sit on benches and whatever else they could find instead.

 

Marilyn Anderson was born on Thanksgiving so she never really had her own day as a kid, although there were always lots of people around. Family lived close to each other, so at noon they would eat a big meal at one grandma’s and then later eat an evening meal at the other grandma’s house.

 

Her family started a tradition when she was young to make and eat Scandinavian treats such as lefse and rummegrot at Thanksgiving as well as Christmas.

 

Everyone brings their pets along to Christina Yandell’s family Thanksgiving get-together, so things can get pretty chaotic. Her family sticks with a pretty traditional Thanksgiving meal, with everyone bringing a dish so all the work doesn’t fall on one person, although every year her mom makes the homemade gravy. 

 

“I really like the food,” said her daughter, Jewel, “Especially the deviled eggs.”

 

After the family eats if it’s warm enough they’ll head outside to play yard games and have a bonfire.

 

In the past Lisa Vait’s family has always kept with a traditional Thanksgiving meal, however this year her daughters are going to try bringing healthier side dishes. Vait will be providing the rest.

 

Janet Moeller has an open-door policy at her house; anyone who doesn’t have a place to go for Thanksgiving is invited to her family’s traditional meal. This year a marine friend of her husband will be joining them.

 

Moeller, who works in customer service at Coborn’s in Clearwater, says the store is just starting to sell a lot of turkeys as area residents begin preparing for their traditional Thanksgiving meals.