moments | November 2015 | www.statesboromoments.com
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A Longstanding Tradition of Love By Julie Lavender
W
hen the calendar flips over to November, stomachs begin to rumble just thinking about the scrumptious Thanksgiving meal that lies ahead. It happens in the Averitt household, too, and their numbers continue to grow with each little one welcomed into the family. The youngest member attending the Thanksgiving meal at the home of matriarch Connie Averitt this year is just 8 months old. Though she won’t be nibbling on turkey just yet, young Averitt Rushing was named for the very family with whom she’ll be celebrating the season for years to come. And one thing’s for sure: She’s joined a family that celebrates Thanksgiving with longstanding traditions, fellowship, football, fun and enough love to go around, no matter how large the family grows. This ever-enlarging branch of the Averitt family tree began with the marriage of the late David Harrison “Hal” Averitt and Elizabeth “Connie” Grattan. Lifelong residents of Statesboro, Hal and Connie, and subsequently their children, celebrated Thanksgiving with Hal’s parents, James and Jessie Averitt, until their passing. Children David, Beth and Mimi recall with fondness the meals shared at the Averitts when they were younger. “I can remember that my grandmother would cook the turkey in the oven in a big roasting pan the night before, turn off the oven and then leave the turkey in the oven overnight,” Beth said. “That’s unheard of nowadays.” Remembering that many of the older
Connie Averitt generation cooked their turkeys this way, Connie said, “She’d put the turkey in the oven, set the temperature for 500, and once it reached 500, she’d turn the oven off and leave it in overnight to finish cooking. But you can’t cook it like that now; it’s not safe.” When the festivities moved to Hal and Connie’s, Hal apparently tried every way imaginable to cook the turkey. The Averitt
women chuckled when discussing his methods. “Mr. Hal always wanted to do the turkey a different way each year,” said daughterin-law Pam Lowe Averitt. “Dad was a gadget person,” Mimi added. “He bought every new gadget to cook with and tried a different way each year.” The turkey-cooking recipe may have changed over the years — Connie usually