Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- Thousands of dollars have been donated and nearly 100 turkeys are already cooking for the annual Thanksgiving Day feast at the Carolina Coliseum in Downtown Columbia.
This year, St. Peter's Catholic Church and First Baptist Church of Columbia are expecting nearly 1,200 guests. "The cooking part is the easy part. It's the defrosting, and it's the preparation of the turkey before you put it in the oven," 'Turkey Man' Johnny Nix explains.
If you can believe anyone, it's Johnny, because he has more than 10 years of prepared turkeys backing him up. "I retired in '95, and there's nothing better than to give back," he says. He's giving back by baking birds for a free Thanksgiving meal put on each year by St. Peter's and First Baptist in Columbia. This year, he's tackling about 90 turkeys.
"Each bird's 24 to 25 pounds, takes approximately four hours to cook--takes approximately one day of thawing. So, each bird I have invested a day in a half two days into," Johnny explains. He makes sure the turkeys tickle your taste buds.
"Every turkey seems to have my name on it," Johnny says. "I was in the hospital some time ago, and the lady came in to clean my room. And the first thing she looked at and said, 'You're the Turkey Man' and you know. So, when you got your name imprinted on something, it better be good."
It has to be good, no matter the size. "Thirty-one pounds and a few ounces--this will be the turkey I cook. [It] will be the centerpiece at the Coliseum this week," Johnny says. "People fighting over the drum stick or something like that. I mean, it's really exhilarating to see them enjoying the turkey," he says.
Everyone is invited to the Thanksgiving Day Dinner, and it starts at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Carolina Coliseum on the corner of Blossom and Assembly Streets in Downtown Columbia.
11/23/2009 11:43:07 PM
