By Laura Hand
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 6:43 p.m.
As we approach the holiday, we thought we'd look back---and for Central New Yorkers, there's a strong turkey connection with the Plainville Farm. In the 80s, it was common for reporters to go to the turkey farm and stand in the pen, surrounded by thousands of turkeys, to do their story introduction or conclusion. Now, the birds are 'quarantined' in the interests of food safety. Other Plainville elements: 25 years ago, they had a store on Erie Boulevard in Syracuse, and would pitch a tent outside for the Thanksgiving turkey rush.
---more Thanksgiving memories: the big dinners at Hotel Syracuse--Jerry Barsha reported in the early 80s that 450 would come on Thanksgiving Day.
also, watching children, often dressed in Pilgrim and Indian costumes, at school 'feasts.' We would ask young children how to cook turkeys, and get answers like 'put it in the oven for 10 minutes.'
We also covered Thanksgiving services on a regular basis---watching Jackie Robinson from 1980 in front of Plymouth Church is one of our highlights. And, the Macy's Parade from 1980 shows a more folksy approach to the holiday.
