Tim Eggert

Editor-in-chief

I associate Thanksgiving with irony. I’ve been a vegetarian for more than two years and I have more knowledge about the symbolic fowl than I do appetite for it. Not eating the bird has given me a lot of time to think about it, specifically, why we use the same name for Meleagris gallopavo—turkeys with wings—as we do for the land occupied by the Turks. “Turkey” has been used to refer to the place since the 1300s, including by Chaucer in “The Book of the Duchess.” “Turkey” in reference to the bird has been used since before 1575—Shakespeare alludes to it in “Henry IV”—and after 186—Dickens writes about it in “A Christmas Carol.” It still isn’t clear why two meanings were attributed to the same name,
but a bird that looks like the North America native turkey may be the answer: the guinea fowl. If when guinea fowl were imported to Europe through the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey), Europeans called them the turkey-cock or turkey-hen, and when settlers in the New World sent similar-looking birds back to Europe, then, out of familiarity, they called them “turkeys.” Whether there’s a difference in flavor between the two birds, however, I wouldn’t know.

Jessica Parsons

Copy editor

Before a family gathering around our usual 4 p.m., my mom frantically sets out appetizers, the kids run around cleaning,
and my dad starts prepping the turkey, he calls “the bird.” Family arrives later, the wine is poured, the catching up and laughter begins, as my dad gets dressed in his apron we all make fun of as he pokes at the turkey. My grandma always brings the best potatoes I’ve ever had, as my aunt and uncle provide the carefully picked desserts; yes, plural. But my favorite part of the meal, and one I cannot get enough of, is the stuffing. As we sit down with full plates and smiling faces, we fold our hands and give thanks to God, the one who’s made it all possible, like all of the faces staring back at each other for yetanother year. We know we are blessed. Thanksgiving at the end of the day to me means family. You’re never really celebrating it without them.

Alex Skinner

Sports editor

It isn’t a Thanksgiving meal without potatoes because they are so versatile. Our family is slowly growing every year as cousins are beginning to get married, introducing new loved ones to our family or having kids. One of the safest, yet most impressionable items, are the potatoes, either mashed, cheesy or sweet. After stuffing ourselves full of turkey, stuffing loaded with heaps of native Petoskey cranberries, green-bean casserole and my dad’s family favorite pecan pie, we turn on the annual Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day loss. Although they have won a few more matchups in the past couple of
seasons, it was inevitable that they were going to lose the game. We sat and jeered the team’s performance from the
couch, trying not to fall asleep as the food coma set in. For everybody still awake after the Lions game, we would take our own football game to the street and set up a 3-on-3 matchup in front of grandma’s house. Ultimate bragging rights
were on the line when we have multiple generations of Skinner’s going against each other; my dad against his
brother, my cousin versus his dad and my sister against me. It’s great to see the family again and we’re thankful
for all the fun we have when we get together to celebrate who we are.

Hailee Powell

Online editor

Every year, my family hops in our Pontiac Montana and makes the 20-minute voyage to Kentucky for Thanksgiving dinner at
my aunt’s house. Once arrived, we say hello to our relatives and answer the same questions in which the answers always seem to change year after year. After the “How are you?” “How’s school?” and “What are you going to do when you graduate?” questions, my siblings and I run upstairs to see our cousins. Hanging out with them is probably my favorite part of the holiday. The parents downstairs have a few drinks, play some card games and watch the game. Meanwhile, my sister, cousin and I sit cross-legged on the bedroom floor hunched over an old Nintendo DS, playing “Cooking Mama” and catching up on the past year. My brothers and other cousin run around terrorizing everyone with lightsabers and Nerf Guns. Although these incidents be but little, this is what I will remember the most in the years to come. That, and being 21 but still being seated at the “kid” table, where every year we yell “Cheers to good beers!” after clinking our glasses of root beer.

Riley Garland

Opinion editor

Each year, my family gathers at my grandmother’s for the typical American Thanksgiving, which means plenty of food, football and of course, nosy relatives. However, we do have one peculiar tradition every year — Family Feud after dinner. And no, we don’t watch it, it’s even worse: we play it. My grandmother has this ancient DVD game that she dusts off for the special occasion, and after we split into teams, we spend the next hour answering decade-old questions. Yes, we’ve played it enough times now to memorize all the categories and answers at this point, but that doesn’t seem to matter to anyone. All that matters is that, for a brief window in our busy lives, we’re able to forget about everything going on outside of that living room and simply enjoy the company of those we love.

Sophie Hillmeyer

Assistant news editor

Each Thanksgiving my dad cooks the food, my mom decorates the house, my sister makes the playlist and I, being the annoying little sister, usually just end up getting in the way. I do have one very important task, however. It has become my duty to name the turkey each year. I remember the first year, after spending some quality time with the turkey before it went into the oven, I decided it needed to be named Bob. At first, it was a joke. I thought it would be silly to name a dead turkey big enough to feed more than 10 of our friends and family members. After Bob, the names really varied. There was Martha, Violet, Stu, Butch and probably a few more that are escaping my mind. Our guests found it endearing and now the first question everyone I hear when everyone arrives is, “What’s the turkey’s name this year?” I’m grateful to have a family who appreciates the silly things in life and honors these little traditions that always make us smile. For me, Thanksgiving is a time when the house is warm and full of love, laughter and silliness.

Kat Torreano

Photo editor

For as long as I can remember my mom would bust into my room and wake me up just in time for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I would help her, more like supervise her cooking, while we watched the parade together. I mostly look forward to her stuffing. Every Thanksgiving dish she makes is delicious, but her stuffing is the best. After our guaranteed delicious meal with aunts, uncles and my best family-friend Michael, we sit down to watch the football game on TV. It is a reliable notion that I will fall into a deep turkey-caused slumber.

Kelsii Kyto

News editor

Although I don’t like most foods served on Thanksgiving, I do enjoy whatever else my family puts in place for my picky sister and I. As we eat our chicken nuggets for dinner like the five-year-olds we are, we realize we still have plenty of things to be thankful for even though we aren’t thankful enough to eat a whole turkey. Whether it’s just four of us in our heavily unused dining room, or a conglomeration of family wherever else we might be, we still enjoy the time we spend together. As we get older, our Thanksgiving day activities begin to vary, but the premise is still the same. My sister doesn’t have to try and sneak the wine because she finally hit the legal drinking age after 21 very long years, and we finally don’t have to fight over the last piece of bread because there’s plenty to go around. But, as we keep evolving and growing, the one thing that will always stay the same is our love for a proper food coma on Thanksgiving, even if it is induced by chicken nuggets rather than a turkey.

Jackie Jahfetson

Copy editor

With a buttered turkey, mom’s stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy and the notable pumpkin pie, there’s nothing that doesn’t end up on your plate. Though Thanksgiving appears to be all about a lavish meal and football, it’s so much more than we realize. Sure, we have to see that cousin we despise or the uncle who tells the weirdest stories and leaves everyone feeling a bit uncomfortable. But it’s a holiday that brings people together and makes us cherish what we often take for granted. Having all seven siblings and 14 nieces and nephews in one house, the night becomes a bit chaotic. We wish our older sisters would keep their comments to themselves, but there’s nothing sweeter than seeing the youngest cousins get along. Uncle Gordon keeps everyone entertained with his stories, especially about the National Guard. You can hear his iconic laugh throughout the house as he jokes about his drill sergeant to all the men gathered in a coffee clutch, like it’s some sort of comedy club. The night always ends the same: extended conversations, someone playing guitar and an intense Scrabble battle. Even if it means losing to brother David for the fifth time in a game of checkers, Thanksgiving is all about family, friendship and four pots of coffee.

Isabelle Tavares

Features editor

Every Thanksgiving, my extended family and I would crowd around the mounds of pumpkin pie, cranberry wild rice
salad, fancy cheese and of course, turkey. After we stuffed ourselves to the extent of the turkey we just inhaled, a deep slumber ensued. We assumed our annual positions—a hand on a puffed-out belly, my cousins and aunts all strewn across my grandmother’s home. The age-old saying that we become our parents gradually came to fruition during our famous game of charades. Hearty laughter erupted from my mom and aunties as us children mocked them for sounding like gobbling turkeys. Years later, during a game of charades, my cousins and I busted into a chorus of gobbles, just like our mothers. In the months that my family and I are apart, I’m grateful to have a laugh that reminds me of those cackling aunties that Thanksgiving brings.

Chloe Anderson

Layout editor

Cranberry sauce is one of the overlooked dressings but adds so much seasonal spice to your table. When I think of going home for this feast, I know my mom will always have the perfect topping for a delicious turkey and she always makes sure to ask if we liked the cranberries. The smell as the fresh berries are crushed and boiled brings warmth throughout our home and reminds me of the delicious meal that is about to bring us together. As such a frequent dish during the holiday, a diverse and festive twist can be found in the ingredients from table to table, like orange zest or cinnamon.