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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Thanksgiving memories

In a photo staged in the early 1940s by his father, young Bill Gothmann grips a hatchet and looks at a turkey at the family business.
In a photo staged in the early 1940s by his father, young Bill Gothmann grips a hatchet and looks at a turkey at the family business.

Bill Gothmann, 77, doesn’t remember the moment a photographer snapped the image of him staring up at a huge turkey perched on a chopping block.

He figures he was 4 or 5 at the time, he said, which would make it 1942 or 1943.

“I’ve never had a good memory,” Gothmann said, laughing.

The former Spokane Valley city councilman said the photo was taken at Gothmann’s Produce Company, which was run by his dad, William Henry Emanuel Gothmann.

Gothmann’s grandfather owned nearby Gothmann’s Greenhouse at 2100 S. Inland Empire Way.

“The Produce Company received live fowl and they produced meat for restaurants, so that’s where the turkey came from,” Gothmann said. “We also handled a lot of eggs.”

The Gothmann family now counts four generations, and many are gathering for Thanksgiving.

“I love turkey,” Gothmann said. “And this has always been a special photo for my family.”

– Pia Hallenberg