For those who love a classic Thanksgiving feast, the annual Turkey Dinner at Crawford Street United Methodist Church serves traditional fare without the wait.
The meal features roasted turkey, dressing, gravy, corn pudding, green beans, fresh-baked rolls, and a variety of pies. Joy Wing, chairperson of the event, said the cornbread dressing is made from scratch by home bakers using a church recipe, and the corn pudding is made at the church the morning of the dinner.
CSUMC’s turkey dinner is a tradition that has been bringing people together, one plate at a time, for more than 100 years. Planning of the meal begins months before the dinner. Many of the church’s members pitch in to prepare food, serve the meal, and clean dishes.
In addition to the dinner, the church will host a bake sale and an arts and crafts sale.
Exactly when the tradition began is a little hazy, but a notice of a date change for the dinner appeared in The Vicksburg Evening Post in 1917, 108 years ago.
In November 1920, The Post reported that the previous year’s craft bazaar and dinner had been such a huge success that the women of the Methodist church were going to have two days of dinner and crafts. The piece said “they (the Methodist women) appeal to the public just once a year, and . . . you get your money’s worth and a whole lot more.”
In 1927, the church served roasted turkey, creamed sweet potatoes with marshmallows, oyster stew, pineapple salad, celery, hot rolls, mincemeat pie, and coffee, according to a newspaper advertisement.
An article about the event from 1965 promised a delicious dinner, cooked in the kitchens of Floral Hall in the church. Sixty years later, the kitchens still host the preparation of the annual turkey dinner.