Thanksgiving Traditions

SHARING

TRADITIONS

“I was born on Thanksgiving Day, and my mother has made me a pumpkin pie for my birthday for the last 50 years.”

— Jamey Snyder, Woodstock’s recreation operations manager

Barbara’s son, J. Henry Jacoby, in kindergarten.

“Some of my most favorite Thanksgiving memories come from our children’s school celebrations. Our oldest, who now is in middle school, played a turkey in his kindergarten pageant. When he saw all of us in the audience, he could not hide his excitement. As he pointed, stood up, laughed and grinned at us through the song, I’m sure I heard a man behind us laugh and say: “There’s a ham in the turkeys!”

— Barbara Jacoby, Cherokee County School District’s chief communications officer

“For me, Thanksgiving means family, shopping and quality time with loved ones. When I was growing up, our large gatherings included extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles and many cousins). While the adults cooked, the cousins played outside. Such fun memories! After I got married, the tradition changed little except for alternating years between my husband’s family and mine. Another tradition that started when I was a child but has continued into adulthood is Black Friday shopping, something I now enjoy with my daughter. This year, I’m especially looking forward to Thanksgiving, because it will be the first time my daughter, who is a freshman at University of California, Berkeley, comes back home for a visit. We’re all looking forward to a long weekend of enjoying time with her!”

— Shannon Wallace, district attorney of the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit

“My favorite Thanksgiving tradition and memory is cooking Thanksgiving dinner with my mom and grandmother. Whether we are all together in Georgia or at my mom’s house, in my hometown of Tampa, Florida, the three of us will be in the kitchen the night before and the morning of Thanksgiving making our family favorites. In addition to the turkey, ham and sides, the showstopper always is my grandmother's cornbread dressing. She passed down the recipe to me, but it always is better when we make it together.”

— Tina Farmer, Cherokee County School District’s executive director of school nutrition and procurement services

Tina Farmer with her mom and grandmother in the kitchen Thanksgiving morning.

Brittany’s son, William Page, with her nieces, Tatum, Kaitlyn and Jocelyn Bleisath.

“Each year, we go to my parents’ house in Jasper for Thanksgiving dinner. My nieces are in charge of baking desserts, and I look forward to what they bake each year. Their creativity always tops the previous year. Last year, we had chocolate cupcakes that looked like little turkeys. It was very cute. As my son grows older and his desire is constantly to be where his cousins are, I have no doubt we will find William in the kitchen baking with them this year. And, I can’t wait to see what they all create together.”

— Brittany Page, Woodstock Police Department’s

“Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! We always put up our Christmas Tree the day after, so after we eat (we're from Louisiana, so we usually switch it up with a gumbo instead of a traditional meal), boxes and boxes of decorations start making their way to the living room. We're also pretty competitive, so Thanksgiving also marks the start of the holiday competitions. I'm determined to win the gingerbread house making contest this year! Last year was a super special Thanksgiving because my mom graduated with her master's degree. She's always been my therapist, but now she can be everyone else's, too! The Cherokee County History Center will be open this year, so I'm looking forward to showing my family around the museum and making a new tradition.”

— Harvee White, History Cherokee’s education manager

Support for

in Cherokee County

The Cherokee County Homeless Veterans Program is a 501(c)(19) nonprofit and part of the American Legion in Cherokee County, Georgia. The focus is assisting homeless veterans in our community who need help with food, limited housing, clothing, claims, home of record and other support. Visit the Cherokee County Homeless Veterans Program Facebook page or email Jim Lindenmayer at jlindenmayer80@gmail.com.

The Cherokee Veterans Community is a military ministry at First Baptist Church Woodstock, serving all branches of the military community in and around Cherokee County. www.cherokeeveteranscommunity.org. veteransministry@fbcw.net.

American Legion Post 45 in Canton and

Post 316 in Woodstock are part of the largest veteran support group in the United States, with posts in 14,000 communities around the country and 2.4 million members. www. galegion45.org, www.alpost316ga.org.

Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5262 in

Canton is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping veterans, military, their families and our community. www.facebook.com/ VFWPost5262.

Cherokee County Suicide Coalition:

Veteran Suicide Awareness is working to prevent deaths by suicide in Cherokee County by bringing awareness and education to the community. Visit https://bit.ly/3Bn2jnn or the Cherokee County Suicide Prevention Facebook page.

Marine Corps League Detachment 1311

of Woodstock is for veterans of the Marine Corps to meet, maintain camaraderie and perform community service. The Woodstock chapter serves Marines, their families and the children of our community. www.facebook.com/ MCLWoodstock.

VETERANS DAY EVENTS

Nov. 11

Veterans Day Candlelight Ceremony

honors veterans at The Park at City Center in downtown Woodstock at 7 p.m. A coffee and cookie social will follow. www.woodstockparksandrec.com.

A Veterans Day Luncheon, presented by the Rotary Club of North Cobb, will be held at the Ben Robertson Community Center in Kennesaw, noon-2 p.m. https://bit.ly/3fPlaRX.

The city of Acworth is honoring veterans by hosting a Veterans Day Ceremony. Stop by the Veterans Memorial at Patriot's Point at Cauble Park at 2 p.m. https://bit.ly/3RK5QDH.

Chapter 1030 of the Vietnam Veterans of America will hold the annual Veterans Day Ceremony at the Cumming Veterans War Memorial, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. The event will feature a traveling replica of the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery. https://bit.ly/3MimV6B.

Nov. 12

Cherokee Veterans Community will hold a free Veteran Appreciation Breakfast, 9-11 a.m. at First Baptist Church Woodstock. All military members, past and present, as well as spouses and children, are welcome. Register at www.cherokeeveteranscommunity.org/events by Nov. 6. The eighth annual Veterans Memorial 5K, presented by American Legion Post 29, is open to runners and walkers of all ages, and is wheelchair- and stroller-accessible and pet-friendly. The 5K begins in Marietta Square, 7:30 a.m. https://bit.ly/3fQRDHH.

The Georgia Veterans Day Parade, Observance Ceremony and Festival will be at The Battery Atlanta, beginning at 11 a.m. There will be veterans speaking, a performance from the 116th Army Band, more than 20 exhibits, as well as equipment displays from the National Infantry Museum. The festivities are free and open to the public. For more details, including a parade route map, visit www.georgiaveteransday.org/events-1.