Wednesday, November 27, 2024

What Happened to the O'Hara Turkey? Don't Axe! – Nov. 24, 1954

Thanksgiving as observed by the Lorain Journal in the 1950s and 60s often meant a front-page photo to celebrate the event. There was a variety of photo subjects: a cute kid eating a drumstick; children praying in church; a homemaker about to shove a turkey in the oven; a flock of turkeys; or maybe just a simple shot of a cornucopia or hands clasped in prayer. The photos were almost always cute and interesting, chosen to trigger feelings of faith and family.

That's why I found the photo above, which appeared on the front page of the Lorain Journal on November 24, 1954, so hilarious. As the caption notes, "Seven year old Althea O'Hara, ax in hand, shows a 25 pound white Holland who's boss when Thanksgiving draws near. Althea, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Vance O'Hara, 2308 Leavitt, is accustomed to seeing turkeys fall under the ax – her father operates a turkey farm. The smile comes from memories of how the turkey's father tasted last year."
Many people that are familiar with O'Hara's Beverage Spot on Leavitt Road might not know that the family business at that location was originally a poultry farm. I wrote about it and interviewed Ralph O'Hara back in a two part series (here and here) in 2017. And an earlier post in 2011 revealed O'Hara's "Poultry Past."
Ad from Nov. 19, 1958 Lorain Journal




4 comments:

Don Hilton said...

Careful with that axe, Eugene... er, Althea.

Ken said...

That smile is pretty ghoulish.

Anonymous said...

I remember my grandfather always had to have fresh meat.Well for a few years he would buy a live turkey and then proceed to chop its head off and then cook the turkey.I was just a little kid of 9 or 10 and I saw him do it one time.And afterwards the turkey ran around with its head chopped off.And the head was lying on the ground for a few minutes with its beak moving.Now this is a little scary for a young kid to see.This may explain why I don't really enjoy turkey as much as everyone else.That plus turkey meat is a little dry and just leaves a weird taste in my mouth.Please let the turkeys live everyone.

Don Hilton said...

As children, both my mum and mother-in-law had to cut the head from birds taken from the yard, gut, pluck, and prepare them. Neither of them cared much for chicken or turkey. Mum would cook it, but not eat much. My M.I.L. could barely stand the smell chicken cooking. Turkey? No way!