Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Save The Turnip
Everyone has a cause. I can't sit down for dinner without getting interupted by a phone call or a knock on the door from someone wanting a donation or a signature or a vote. It's not really that big a deal, all things considered. The minor inconvenience of a couple minutes in order to help someone running for office or helping the less fortunate, so I try to take it all in stride. It can get overwhelming however and I have learned to pick and choose the cause I donate to.
Thanksgiving reminds me of a couple of my favorite causes. Legion Field, of course, because of the historic football games played there on Thanksgiving Day for many years. There were some cold miserable games back then, but we loved it. Legion would be all muddy and the players would be filthy.
Going to the Sand Trap for a couple of drafts after the game, was always fun too. Who would have thought, a few years ago, that the Sand Trap would outlast Legion.
picture taken by Lisa Farrell from Everything Weymouth on Facebook
Another Thanksgiving tradition that is in danger of extinction is the turnip. At one time the turnip was akin to the turkey at the Thanksgiving table, but sadly it is often forgotten today. My 98 year old grandmother and her 75 year old son (my Dad), love turnip. If they're at the Thanksgiving dinner, we make it point to serve some turnip. Growing up, I learned to love turnip greens. Very tasty. Hopefully, when I'm 98, I'll be eating turnip too.
Kids nowadays don't like turnip which is why there all fat. They don't like to watch football games outside on cold snowy Thanksgiving Days either. In fact the high school teams now play on synthetic turf, which is often heated, and they don't get dirty. They like to sit in front of the TV and eat Papa Gino pizza. They'd probably gag if they ate a pickled egg at Dewey's.
Cook up some turnip and serve it on Thanksgiving and be thankful.
POSTED BY STAN on November 25, 2009
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Comments
I am pleased to read about your defense of the turnip. Here in Eastham we have been working to revive the delicious, purple topped sweet genetically unique variety known as the Eastham turnip. Until his recent death, Art Nickerson made it his life's mission to keep this turnip going. Two of his daughters continue to cultivate his field. Just recently, Bob Wells is carving a small patch of farmland out of his woodlot, and is out to multiply the available Eastham turnip stock. Bob's daughter Marina gave my son Jackson an Eastham turnip for his 18th birthday, and instead of eating it, he planted it in the hope of bringing it to seed. I can see it out my window, almost the size of the small red maple we rescued from my wife's grandmother's yard shortly before her death. The turnip is alive and well in Eastham!
Posted by: Paul Niles | November 28, 2009 10:47 PM