It’s 11:30 on Thanksgiving Eve, and I’m wrung out and I still have to figure out how to cook the moose roast that’s thawing and dripping blood over my counter. And I have to write this piece about what some of our politicians are doing this Thanksgiving and I have to try to put some heart into it, because, if I’m going to write about them at all, they deserve some heart. They’ve worked so hard in the last few months. And if I’m wrung out, imagine how they and their families must feel.
Bill Walker, via his daughter, Lindsay Hobson Walker:
(W)e will spend Thanksgiving at my brother’s house in Anchorage. My dad’s family had a Thanksgiving tradition of serving “heavenly hash” back in the day where they had very little fresh fruit so it was cans of fruit cocktail mixed in with whipped cream, nuts & coconut. We have sort of replaced that with the cranberry mold which my mom says we have had every year for at least 30 years.
Lt. Gov.-elect Byron Mallott’s Thanksgiving plans:
My family will be sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner at our Juneau home at 4ish to a traditional spread but also including a venison roast from a deer recently taken during a hunt on Admiralty Island by sons Anthony and Joe. There will be 15 family members at table including son BJ and family who are down from Yakutat to join us.
From Gov. Sean Parnell, via his spokesperson:
He will be in Anchorage spending the holiday with his family and new grandson. His daughters- in-law will be at Thanksgiving dinner as well. Everyone will bring a dish and the meal will definitely be over by the time the Seahawks play.
Senate-elect Dan Sullivan:
We are driving to Fairbanks to spend Thanksgiving with Julie’s parents, Hugh “Bud” and Mary Jane Fate– and her sisters, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, too. Every day is truly a gift, and we’re so thankful to be spending it with our loved ones and with some of the kindest and most giving caregivers at the Denali Center. We’ll be enjoying the usual Thanksgiving fixings and some smoked salmon and low-bush cranberry sauce — and a good poker game, too! The drive on the Parks Highway from Anchorage to Fairbanks is one of our favorite Thanksgiving family traditions — it’s one of the most beautiful drives in the world.
Rep. Don Young:
Traditionally, I’ve always spent Thanksgiving in Alaska with my two daughters and grandkids, but this year I will be headed south to celebrate the holiday with my fiancée and her extended family. It’s never easy being away from home during the holidays, but this year I’m looking forward to sharing a little bit of Alaska and our history with new friends and family. Like many, I like to count my blessings and take a moment to reflect on the many things I’m thankful for: the love of friends and family, the support of the Alaskan people, and the good health God has blessed me with.
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