A lifetime of Thanksgivings

“We didn’t have a turkey,” Ruth Dawson told The Stand. “Daddy fattened up and dressed a hog and a big Rhode Island Red rooster. Mama made the best dressing with homegrown peppers and sage. She cooked peas and potatoes that we raised, and Daddy made a big washpot of hominy.
“My favorite was Mama’s orange cake. Oh, the fresh oranges smelled good. The real treat was the candies on top of the cake. Several disappeared before the meal began,” she laughed.
Ruth’s earliest Thanksgiving memory is from 1929, when she was 5 years old.
“We didn’t have pretty decorations,” she recalled. “We were living through the Great Depression. We were lucky to have food.”
The simple gathering only included Ruth and her parents and siblings, yet she remembers it vividly – not because of the abundance on the table, but the gratitude around it. In a desperate time of scarcity when most American families struggled to provide basic needs each day, Thanksgiving reminded her family of God’s bountiful blessings and provisions through difficult times.

A childhood of gratitude
Born in a two-room wooden house with no water or electricity in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, Ruth was the second of seven children. To make ends meet, her father farmed, and her mother sold eggs.
“There was no money for food. We had no choice but to grow our own,” said Ruth. “We always had plenty, and Daddy was good to share what we had with others. We were taught to love each other, work hard, and take care of those around us.”
Her mother made dresses for the girls out of feed sacks, and their beds were made of straw.
“I’m amazed that my parents accomplished so much with so little. I never realized we were in the Depression, because they never complained,” Ruth recalled.
The church in their small community of Cripple Deer was founded the same year Ruth was born, 1924. Her parents were Sunday School teachers, and the traveling preacher, who visited once or twice a month, was paid with food from her parents’ farm. When the church needed money for repairs and improvements, the children would work hard to put on a play for the community and charge 10 cents per person.
“Every Thanksgiving, the church hosted a potluck meal for the whole town,” she said. “Everyone was welcome to eat, as long as they sat through the service.”
As young children, Ruth and her siblings attended a one-room schoolhouse where prayer was essential, the Bible was read daily, and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited every morning. Even though America was a struggling nation at the time, patriotism was diligently taught and equally as important as their education.

A called generation
On December 8, 1941, a special meeting was called for the faculty and student body of Tishomingo High School, where Ruth attended. Most students did not own a radio and were unaware of the bombing of Pearl Harbor the day before.
The students gathered around the radio as President Franklin D. Roosevelt informed the country of the catastrophic casualties, as well as his request of Congress to declare a state of war with Japan.
Ruth remembers the country coming together in a way she had never experienced prior to that time.
“We knew our freedom was at stake,” she stated. “We supported each other and prayed for victory. Churches were so full that there were men standing outside listening through the windows.”
Knowing the draft was inevitable for her high school sweetheart, Chester, the couple married at the beginning of her senior year in August 1943. He shipped out for basic training in September.
In 1944, Ruth and 17 of 41 classmates graduated.
“WWII took its toll on our class,” she said. “Many weren’t there to graduate, but we didn’t lose a single boy.”
Graduation was bittersweet for Ruth, who was the salutatorian. Since she was receiving a special award, her parents had given her a store-bought dress for the occasion – the first one she had ever owned.
“They wanted me to feel beautiful,” Ruth said. “I was excited but also grieved. There were many tears shed, knowing the boys in our class were in war or leaving for war, but they had been taught from a young age to love our country, and they gladly served until the war ended.”
Thanksgivings were especially memorable during WWII, according to Ruth.
“The war was the No. 1 conversation around the table,” she remembered. “Letters from soldiers were read aloud, and we prayed for each one of them. There were many boys killed from our small county, including my cousin. Those were tough times.”

A growing family
Ruth began her teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse. She obtained her degree in education while she was teaching and during the summer months.
Chester was sent home after basic training in North Carolina due to problematic X-rays of his lungs. Although it was only scarring from having pneumonia as a child, military doctors feared it was tuberculosis and denied him the opportunity to serve.
The couple raised two children, served their community, and “experienced the good life America had to offer.” After 40 years of teaching, Ruth retired in 1986.

A grand adventure
Retirement proved to be too quiet for the Dawsons, so they decided to go back to their roots and farm their land.
“Many people discouraged us because of our age, but we listened to no advice and did as we pleased,” said Ruth. “Chester was disabled at that point, but we worked together every day. Those are still some of my most cherished memories.”
Although Chester passed away in 2003, Ruth is thankful for the beautiful life they shared.
Today, she resides in an assisted living home where she begins every day with two hours of alone time with God and her Bible. She enjoys journaling her thoughts and writing her history. Since January, she has crocheted over 100 cloths for loved ones.

A lesson for future generations
Since President Abraham Lincoln officially established Thanksgiving as an annual national observance in 1863 – over 160 years ago – Ruth has celebrated more than 100 of them. Times and faces around the table have changed, but her love and appreciation for God, family, and freedom have not.
A teacher at heart, the message she wants to share is simple: “America must keep God first. Our Founding Fathers built this nation on biblical principles, and we must uphold them and honor the Lord. Freedom is to be cherished, not taken for granted.”