Thanksgiving unites family and food

   Thanksgiving is two days away, and area residents are getting their ovens ready for a holiday feast. Many people will be traveling out of town to spend the day with friends and family. Ed Jones, of Washington, was planning to go out of state, but is now planning to stay in the area.

?My original plan was to take my mother and go to my sister?s in Minnesota, but the weather report is not good,? he said. ?I?m going to spend Thanksgiving Day with my niece Amy Martin and her family in Columbus Junction.?

    Jones elected to skip the 10-hour drive to his sister?s house in northwest Minnesota near Fargo, N.D. He said snow and ice are predicted for the area. Jones said he?ll have fun with his relatives in Columbus Junction.

    ?We don?t see them real often, maybe four or five times per year,? he said. ?There should be about 12 people there.?

    When the family gets together at his house, Jones cooks the meal. His favorite thing to make is the dressing for the turkey.

    ?I left the pie baking to my mother, because she?s better at that than I am,? he said.

    Jones said whoever hosts Thanksgiving is responsible for providing the meal. When he and his family get together, they like to look at old photo albums and share stories. Jones said he is most thankful for his family and friends.

    Sonja Martinez of Kalona will host her family?s Thanksgiving dinner.

    ?My whole family is visiting me,? she said. ?My daughter, her kids, my brother, my nephew, his girlfriend and his daughter are all coming to my house.?

    Martinez and her family are from California, and they all decided to move to Washington County. She will spend Thanksgiving with people she sees on a daily basis.

She said she is in charge of the meal, but added that she puts everyone to work in the kitchen.

    ?We all cook the meal,? she said. ?Each house is bringing a dish. I?m making ham, turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pickle relish and cranberry sauce. My brother is bringing a deep-fried turkey. We?ll also have something with broccoli and cheese.?

    In the Martinez household, Thanksgiving is ?football day.?

    ?My favorite team is Dallas,? she said. ?Some of our family members are Raiders fans, but my husband and I are Dallas fans. I don?t know who?s playing that day, but we?ll probably watch the game.?

    Martinez said her family likes to play games such as Yahtzee. She said there are a lot of kids around, and they play dress-up when they get together. Martinez said the thing she is most thankful for is her family.

    Bev Rhoades, of Washington, does not know what she?ll do for Thanksgiving or where she?ll be. She has a daughter and grandchildren who live in Virginia, but she doesn?t think she?ll visit them because it has become a bother to fly.

    ?I?ve flown a lot, but it sounds like it?s getting worse all the time, with all this publicity about the pat-downs,? she said. ?I don?t see my daughter as often as I used to. It is such a hassle to fly the kids back here, too, now that they?re older.?

    Rhoades?s favorite dish on Thanksgiving is turkey, and one of her favorite games to play that day is Scrabble.

    ?A long time ago, we played a game called Canasta,? she said. ?I don?t think young people play it anymore. They?ve probably never heard of it.?

    Rhoades said she?s thankful for her health and her family.   

    Frank and Evelyn Lukavsky, of Washington, will host a holiday dinner at their residence. They said their entire family will be there except their grandson who attends college at Chapman University in Orange, Calif.

    ?Our oldest daughter lives in Ankeny, and our youngest daughter lives in Washington,? said Evelyn. ?We have two granddaughters and two grandsons. We have a senior at Iowa (University of Iowa), a sophomore at Missouri (University of Missouri), and a junior in California.?  

For the full story, see the Nov. 23 edition of The Washington Evening Journal