Turkey Day, patterned after an event of the Thanksgiving season of the late 1800s and early 1900s, is being recreated and will take place on the west side of the courthouse square Sunday, Nov. 20.
Businesses on the square and Sullivan’s, located in Northside Shopping Center, will be open from 1 to 5 p.m. and offer “turkey” specials.
Serving as master of ceremonies for Turkey Day will be Dr. Henry Jones. He and his hunting buddies will regale stories of hunting experiences along with the turkey tossing.
The actual tossing will be in the form of a toy turkey tossed from the southeast corner of the courthouse lawn. Those catching a turkey will be presented a certificate which will entitle them to claim their prizes at Sunflower Food Store.
The Pilgrim Family, a Central Mississippi Bluegrass Gospel group, will present entertainment from 2 until 3:30 p.m.
G.G. Holmes, vice president of development with the Kosciusko-Attala Partnership, said area residents are invited to be a part of Turkey Day which began last year. Response prompted the KAP to make it an annual event.
Bringing a lawn chair is suggested.
In the original event, the live turkeys with money tied to their legs, were turned loose from the roof of the Potts-Oliver Co., the building on the northeast corner of the east side of the square now occupied by Downtown Baptist. The crowd gathered on the square scrambled to chase the live turkeys. Those who were successful took home their Thanksgiving turkey dinner.
Turkey Day was a specialty of the Potts-Oliver Co. every November.
According to the “Kosciusko-Attala County History,” the Potts-Oliver building was the only survivor of the fire in 1886 that destroyed the east side of the square. The memory of Turkey Day survived along with the building.
