We are a couple of days past Thanksgiving, and it has just occurred to me that I have a turkey story. It doesn’t amount to much, but it’s part of my history so what the heck?

After high school, I worked for a couple of years at Howard Motors, our local Chevrolet and Buick dealership in Augusta, Kansas. My boss was the Service Manager, Kenneth Markley, a heck of a nice guy. I believe it was in the summer of 1954 that Kenny came up to me and asked if I would like to make a weekend trip to Minnesota and back. Kenny’s wife was from there, and she and their two kids had spent a few weeks up there during the summer. Kenny was going up to get them and wanted someone to help with the driving. I said “yes” immediately. We left work at 6:00 P.M. and went home to clean up. Kenny picked me up about 7:00, and off we went.

Kenny drove the first few hours and then turned it over to me while he slept. I had never driven much after dark and certainly had never gone very far. It was a new experience for me, and I enjoyed every minute of it. The Interstate Highway System hadn’t been built yet, so we were driving on the U.S. highways, all two-lane roads.

Kenny’s car was a 1953 Chevrolet, Model 210 with a 6-cylinder engine and standard transmission. Kenny had only had it for a few months, and it still smelled like a new car.

We drove all night and some time, after dawn, Kenny told me we were getting close to our destination. We soon came to the official sign. It read “Brewster, Minnesota” in big letters. Below it and a little smaller, it said “Turkey Capitol of the World.” My gosh! If I had known we were going to such an important place, I would have dressed up a little instead of wearing jeans and cowboy boots.

We ate breakfast and visited with the family and then slept a few hours. I then walked to the downtown area and found a store that was open. I remember it as a general store, but it had a pool table in the back. I drank a Coke and shot a game of pool with myself. The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting with the family. We spent the night and returned home the next day. It was a great experience for me, and I was especially glad to learn where turkeys come from.

Dave Thomas

12/5/2024