WINSTON WEEKLY^[1]

November 24, 2024

Vol. 2, No. 47

TURKEY TALK[2]

The Thanksgiving turkey tradition has led to millions of calls to the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line which has existed for 45 years. As technology has developed, so has Butterball, now responding to e-mails, texts, and social media messages from home chefs and others curious about thawing and cooking the birds. Butterball even has a tracker for the most “Turkey Troubles,” meaning the most calls from certain areas of the country. From Wisconsin to Texas to New York, turkey troubles abound.

People have tried thawing turkeys in bathtubs and pools. A poor man called the Turkey-Talk Line to let them know his thawing method did not work. When asked why, he responded his turkey was safely thawing in the pool but had disappeared. What or who took the thawing turkey no doubt has a story to tell!  

Whether turkey is part of your Thanksgiving tradition, Thanksgiving commemorates the unity of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. After a dark period in history, they gathered in 1621 for a feast celebrating cultural goodwill and peace, leading to an annual tradition.

In proclaiming Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, President Lincoln said in part, “Peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict….”

 THIS WEEK’S ACTIVITY

If a Turkey Trot is not your thing, consider other ways to be active on Thanksgiving. From pin the feather on the turkey to Thanksgiving charades to a walk in the neighborhood or a trail not previously explored before, options abound.

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[1] Copyright November 24, 2024. Winston Weekly is a weekly newsletter and blog by Alysen Bayles available at www.baylesconnect.com or by e-mail at baylesconnect@gmail.com. Please feel free to share with the appropriate attribute.

[2] Nicki Camberg, Charted: The Popularity of Butterball’s Turkey Talk-Line, www.wcvb.com; Butterball 888-288-8372; Robert Tracy McKenzie, The First Thanksgiving, IVP Academic, 2013.