"My, I wish it were Thanksgiving! I'd prepare a feast!"
--From Cherry Ames, Clinic Nurse, p. 174
Thanksgiving is family time for Cherry--in theory, at least, since Cherry doesn't always get to celebrate, or else is far from her home in Hilton on the special holiday.
November Noncelebrations
Thanksgiving passes with nary a mention during Cherry's first year as a student at Spencer; since the holiday comes near the end of her three-month probationary period (Student Nurse), perhaps she and her classmates have too much on their minds to celebrate. Cherry is on Ward 27, Men's Surgical, for the month of November, and screws up big-time under the scrutiny of Dr. Wylie about a week before Thanksgiving. Worrying that she will be dropped from training, Cherry presumably doesn't even notice any Thanksgiving festivities.
But finally, when Cherry is stationed at an airbase in England, she has a real American-style Thanksgiving dinner (Flight Nurse). The day begins with a church service, then Cherry meets her technician and friend Bunce Smith for a walk and a chat (characteristically disregarding the rule about fraternization between officers and enlisted men).
Thanksgiving dinner consists of turkey, candied sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce, and is shared with the two young sons of the woman who runs Cherry's barracks, as well as her little friend Muriel Grainger. After dinner, Wade Cooper and Cherry drive Muriel home; Cherry stays to tea with Muriel's grandmother and meets Muriel's dog, Lilac, and her mysterious father, Mark Grainger.
Stateside Again
While working in New York as a Visiting Nurse, Cherry looks forward to Thanksgiving "and some rest and fun" (Visiting Nurse, p. 117). But she becomes wrapped up in organizing a community Christmas party and taking care of reclusive Mary Gregory, and we do not learn if poor Cherry got her much-needed break.
Several jobs later, Cherry has been working as an office nurse for Dr. Clem Brown, but arranges to leave his employ "in time to spend the Thanksgiving holidays at home" (Country Doctor's Nurse, p. 213), before she begins a new assignment as a school nurse at the Jamestown Academy in Jamestown, Rhode Island. But, in the most glaring discontinuity in the series, in the next book (written by Helen Wells after a seven-book hiatus), Cherry's at the Jamestown Academy in Illinois for the beginning of the school term in September, and at the end of that book her mother expects her to spend Thanksgiving with the Ames family in Hilton, either at her parents' home or at her grandmother's home (Boarding School Nurse).
When Cherry does get to Hilton for the holiday, she has already started yet another new job, this one at Thomas and Parke's department store in New York City. After attending church services while the turkey is in the oven, Cherry helps her mother prepare dinner for the four Ameses to enjoy at home, without any other relatives present (Mrs. Ames feels a little selfish about that, but Charlie is glad to have more turkey).
They dine at a festive table set with Mrs. Ames's best china and decorated with "autumn fruits and flowers" (Department Store Nurse, p. 1). Mr. Ames carves the holiday bird; Charlie helps clear the table. For dessert, they enjoy pumpkin pie and coffee, and the men of the family tease Cherry about her romantic prospects.
Since the afternoon is gray and windy, they decide not to go for a walk but relax at home until their neighbors, the Pritchetts and the Galloways, drop by; Cherry is disappointed not to see Dr. Joe and Midge, who are in Chicago. Later that evening, Charlie drives Cherry to Hilton Airport for her return flight to New York City, where she arrives after midnight.
And not once does anyone even mention a football game.
Grateful Gatherings: Thanksgiving Day
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