Thankful memories: Looking back at Turkey Days spent with my mother

Mom, who was raised in Buffalo in a family of Orthodox emigrants from Eastern Europe but strayed from strict observance when she left home, and became more traditional as she aged, religiously commemorated Thanksgiving.

Her parents, unfamiliar with U.S. customs, did not prepare a Thanksgiving meal when she was young. Later, living with her folks, she convinced them to make a holiday meal that day. Then, she got married and made it part of our family tradition — and of the tradition of her out-of-town children. After she left her hometown the year after Dad died 20 years ago, she attended one o...