Thanksgiving In a Pillowcase

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Thanksgiving In A Pillowcase

As I crumbled cornbread to be used next week in the Thanksgiving dressing, I smiled as I recalled a story my mom told me about herself when she volunteered to make the dressing for the whole Mattox clan that were meeting at her Aunt Tichie and Uncle Rob’s house for Thanksgiving. Now, Aunt Tichie lived in Kussuth, MS. while Mom and Dad lived in Ripley, about 23 miles away.

MaMa and PaPa Sid

The event must have taken place sometime around 1935-1940 because Mom said she, Kate Hall Mattox, and my dad, Sid Hall were married but had not started their family yet. Now, you have to understand, if my parents ever told you they would do something, they kept their word! At all costs!This occasion was no exception.

As Mother told it, she said she got up early that morning and made four or five pans of cornbread, 15 or so biscuits, and toasted “store-bought” bread cause toast made the dressing lighter and kept it from being too gummy. She crumbled all the bread and then chopped onions and celery.

When she realized she was running late for getting the dressing ingredients and might not get there early enough to get it cooked in time for Thanksgiving Dinner, she went into “high gear!” She threw all the dressing ingredients into a pillow case, ran and got on her high heels and broad brim hat and bolted to the car. Mind you, they called lunch “dinner” and dinner “supper” back then. She said” I jumped in the car and floor-boarded it.

Somewhere along the way, I must have looked down and ran off the road. I landed at the bottom of a hill and I didn’t worry one bit about the car or me, I was just scared I wasn’t going to get the dressing made in time for all those people!

I looked around and realized I had to get back up on the road for help, so I clawed my way back up in those high heels. I had a hard time holding onto the pillowcase full of dressing, keeping my hat on my head, and trying not to lose my purse.

By the time I was back up on the road, I was pretty bedraggled, but I just stuck my thumb out and prayed SID would leave early and come get me or someone else would come along and give me a ride to Aunt Tichie’s.

Pretty soon, a man came by in a pickup truck and took me straight to her house. I ran to the kitchen, dumped the dressing in a pan and got to work. The meal was perfect and went off without a hitch and my dressing was a hit! “

What’s funny is that Mom never told me what happened to her car. As I think about my parents’ determination to “follow through” when they made promises, I totally understand why she never bothered to tell me about the car. It just wasn’t that important. Keeping her word was, and she made sure to keep it that Thanksgiving!