Students prepare for Turkey Day

For University students, Thanksgiving weekend is a chance to leave homework, dorm rooms and Dining Services in favor of family members, better food and, unfortunately, long lines at the airport. In fact, despite blizzards and lingering economic problems, more Americans are expected to travel this year than in any of the past seven years to celebrate Thanksgiving, automotive industry officials said yesterday. An estimated 28.9 million people will travel 100 miles or more by car, plane, train or bus, the American Automobile Association predicted. Many University students said they will be joining the traveling millions this weekend to celebrate the holiday in traditional fashion, with large turkey dinners and too many relatives. "I like eating, [and] I always get a lot of leftovers for the rest of the weekend," said Wharton freshman Jason Lehman, who is returning to his home in Connecticut via a 4-hour train ride. "It's an enjoyable holiday for me." And since the traditional Thanksgiving feast inevitably includes turkey as a main course, supermarket poultry sales skyrocket. Bennie DeLoach, a night manager at the Thriftway Supermarket at 4301 Walnut, said that regular turkey sales during the year are very slow. "Some people just buy turkey on Thanksgiving," he said. "It's not because they like turkey. It's just a tradition." Though she lives in Miami, Florida, College freshman Jane Grodnick said she is flying to Texas for both Thanksgiving and her cousin's Bat Mitzvah. She added that Thanksgiving is not one of her favorite occassions. "It's not a significant holiday," she said. "The Jewish holidays have more meaning than an American holiday." College junior Alahan Lee will not be traveling to her home in Canada this weekend since Canadians do not celebrate Thanksgiving on the same day as Americans do. The Canadian Thanksgiving occurs on the second Monday in October, while the American holiday always falls on the last Thursday in November. Lee said the two holidays have one major difference. "There's less emphasis on Pilgrims [in Canada]," she said. "It's more of a history here than at home." Even the University's administrators said they will be relaxing in traditional style this weekend. President Sheldon Hackney will be spending the weekend playing with his grandchildren, while Rick Nahm, senior vice president for planning and development, said he will spend most of the weekend trying to catch up on work. "It's another week with a day off on Thursday," Nahm said, adding that he will return to work on Friday. "There aren't many people around here [on Friday] to work with so I get a lot of paperwork done." Thanksgiving represents the anniversary of the Pilgrims' first harvest in 1621, but it was not celebrated in the U.S. until November 26, 1789, when it was proclaimed a national holiday by President George Washington. Canada officially recognized Thanksgiving as a national holiday in November 1879. Although Thriftway's DeLoach said the largest sized turkey available at his store is approximately 22 pounds, President Bush was handed a 55-pound live turkey by the National Turkey Federation yesterday. The bird was designated the National Thanksgiving Turkey. "This turkey represents America's 45 million turkeys who will begin making their irreplaceable contribution to our Thanksgiving celebration," said Bush. Then, while patting his new feathered friend, Bush said to the turkey, "Take it easy, turkey, we're just here to serve you." The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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