Evening star., 1927-11-20
Lincoln Gave Wider
Scope to Thanksgiving

dish of that dinner. This self.same
turkey is one of our typical national
birds. When the first white explorers
visited the New World they found wild
turkeys roaming spacious range
from rock.ribbed New England to
sand.swept Mexico. The turkey is In.
digenous to North America, and from
this country as it's home was intro.
duced to the rest of the world.
Nobody knows how the turkey was
named. 1t might as appropriately
have been called a canary or a guinea.
except that the piping cry OF the
mother bird calling her young together
sounds like Turk, tur.r-r.k." AS
for coming from the land Of His Sui
tanic Majesty--some report Turkey az
the origin of the kingly appearing
fowl--the turkey might just as well
be reputed to come from Kamchatka
or Kalamazoo.
When Cortez, Spanish explorer.
first broke bread with the early AZ.
tees, King Montezuma served wild
turkey and Indian corn as outstand.
ing viands at that banquet. Coron.
ado found the cliff dwellers eating
roast turkey as one of their favorite
foods. The Zuni Indians Of the
Southwest have been familiar with
turkey hunting for centuries. Some
of their most ancient legends and
traditions are built around this par.
ticular bird.
All Washingtonlans who can afford
such luxuries eat turkey, cranberry
sauce and pumpkin pie--the popular
foods of the typical New England
dinner--on Thanksgiving Day. From
the White House to the Districts
poorhouses. the turkey is the cherish
ed fowl Of November's major festi.
val. No, that is not exactly true,
after all, for most Of the District
charitable institutions are serving
roast pig as the meat masterpiece
for Thanksgiving. These porkers
were raised and fattened at the Dis.
trict prison farm near Lorton, Va.
This farm specializes In supplying
large numbers OF Thanksgiving and
Christmas porkers for such holiday
, dinners.
Texas now produces one.tenth Of
| tn, American turkey supply. Certain
Texas communities depend largely for
their existence during the balance Of
the year on the revenues which they
| realize from the sale Of Thanksgiving
| turkeys. Elaborate ceremonies are
observed and public holidays are de.
clared during the turkey marketing
season.
For example. in Cuero. Tex. which
ships more turkeys during early No.
| vember than any other railroad sta.
ton in the world, a mammoth parade
is held in which from 10000 to 10000
or more turkeys march through the
principal streets OF the town to the
music of several brass bands. And
| from the pomp of parade, the white,
red and bronze gobblers and hens trot
in dignified cadence to the killing.
picking and packing plants where
they are prepared for shipment to
the Northern markets.
| The famous Thanksgiving turkey
special" bound from Morristown,
Tenn, to New York City annually
route to it's ultimate destination-the
Thanksgiving dinner tables OF the con.
sumers of these fat fowl. This train
of from so to rs cars Is crammed to
capacity with toothsome turkeys "on
the hoof" Each car accommodates
from $500 to 1000 fat birds. An at.
tendant accompanies each carload OF
turkeys to feed. water and care for
the fowl in transit.
Washington will not banquet on as
many Virginia and Maryland turkeys
as usual this year. The late Spring
and wet weather killed thousands OF
I DdUy turkeys WHICH OLneEWlS0 WOulQ
have matured into succulent food for
the residents of our National Capital.
The Maryland and Virginia supply r.
| from to 10 per cent smaller than last
| year and hence the price Is a little
higher. A correspondingly larger crop
of turkeys has been imported from
other producing sections to make up
| the local supply deficit.
| A few Washington nimrods will tell
stories about providing their families
with Wild turkeys shot In the wood.
lands of Virginia or Maryland. Every
year such sportsYnen play the part OF
Ananiases and often have their yarns
believed as "all wool and yard
wide" The truth OF the matter Is that
the wild turkey 10 practically extinct
along the Atlantic seaboard. A few
fiocks still obtain In the most remote
sections Of the Maryland and virginia
mountains. The majority Of the local
wild turkeys" are birds that have
strayed from domesticated fiocks and
taken up their residences In neighbor.
ing woods, where they live upon
worms and ''mast''--the acorns, chest.
nuts and similar nut tree fruit which
they forage.
|