This appeared with a photograph in the 1989 Bank of Holly Grove calendar:
The "Turkey Day Game" was a Thanksgiving Day tradition between the two schools of Holly Grove and Clarendon. The sidelines were jammed with spectators on both sides and you had to arrive early that morning to find a parking place near the field. It was usually the "Homecoming" for the host school and was a day filled with pageantry and glory for the victor, as the rivalry between the two schools was unsurpassed. A plate of turkey and dressing, visits with friends and family, and then off to the "showdown" in early afternoon. It was a game you dare not miss, as one which would be relived many times prior to the next.
The Thanksgiving Day game was a big event in my family in the 60's. My cousins, the Lees, lived in Clarendon and every year the game was either played in Clarendon or in HG. My cousin, Linda Lee, was a cheerleader and so was I, and when our brothers, Dave and Perry Lee and Parker Johson were in the game, there was a lot of rivalry and tension. If the game was in Clarendon, the Lees would host the Thanksgiving dinner and if we played in HG, we, The Johnsons, were the hosts. As we got older and the rivalry got fiercer, we had to eat before the game because afterward, often the players or cheerleaders were so upset that the meal did not go down smoothly! I brought my future husband to the last Clarendon/HG game when I was in college and he saw Parker play at Clarendon. After the rivalry was retired, my entire family started going to Helena to my Aunt Bennette's house for Thanksgiving. It was the end of a great era. Jeanie Johnson Hill
"The Clarendon-Holly Grove football games bring back many, many memories! It was always on Thanksgiving Day around 2 p.m. in the afternoon, and it disrupted many dinners at home. Of course, now football season ends way before that day. It was always the largest game of the season - whether at Holly Grove or at Clarendon, a couple of thousand would turn out! I remember that when I played I was so nervous that morning I could not eat. I played for two or three years as quarterback. Clarendon always had the better team and players and usually proceeded to defeat us handily. It ran in cycles, though! Earlier before I came along, Holly Grove would win, but the "war turned" periodically! Clarendon had some very good athletes. Buddy Harding, as I recall, grew up and played at Holly Grove and later became Coach at Clarendon. He proceeded to defeat Holly Grove regularly. The day of the game usually was a "crisp, cool" afternoon in November, sometimes very nice, others cold windy. Of course, back then November was usually cold…not like today! Everyone dressed up and wrapped up for the weather, and it was standing room only, whether at Holly Grove or at Clarendon. It was "bragging rights, winner take all"! As I sit here, the smell in the air brings back memories of the fall…the special "smells" that time of the year, when cotton gins were ginning bales of cotton, the lint hanging heavy around town, the weather just beginning to turn…a special freshness in the air denoting fall and changing of the seasons. I can still smell the ointments the players used to put on themselves."
I wanted to post this memory of the Thanksgiving Day game from Ernie Wong:
"It was the ultimate rivalry! Opposing fans and players who only lived 13 miles apart and in many cases, knew each other, also knew the history and tradition of the rivalry and turned out to show their colors. Each town wanted to win so badly, even if a team had a losing record, they could salvage the season by beating the other team!"
"At one time there were huge bonfires by the railroad tracks with an enthusiastic pep rally the night before the game; this practice was later ended for safety reasons. During the week of the game, animated discussions about the Panthers’ chances against the Lions took place in the barber shop, cafe, bank, grocery stores, pool hall, and churches. The interest in the game was electrifying!"
