Thanksgiving Family Hayride: Turning Black Friday into a Favorite Holiday

Cousins, friends, neighbors, in-laws and outlaws join the Coggin family each November for their Thanksgiving hayride.

Written by JACKIE KENNEDY

Photos Courtesy of THE COGGIN FAMILY

In 2011, Cowetans Champ and Sara Coggin died within six months of one another. Their children and grandchildren were heartbroken. It was hard to imagine gathering that year at Thanksgiving without the family patriarch and matriarch.

"Memaw and Pop were everything to us," recalls their daughter, Cheryl Coggin Glisson. "We needed something – anything – to make it through our first holiday without them."

She had an idea: Get together at Thanksgiving, like before, but follow that up the next morning with a family hayride.

Initially, there was grumbling and complaining, according to Glisson. But on that first Black Friday, instead of heading out to snag bargains at the box stores, the family heeded her wishes. They bundled up, piled into wagons pulled by tractors, and rode around the Coggin's north Coweta farm.

"By the end of the ride, something had shifted," Glisson recalls. "The fresh air and fall foliage made us realize how blessed we were."

"See you again next year!"

The family decided to do it again the next year – and have hosted the homespun event each year since. This year marks the 15th annual jaunt through woods and pastureland that have been in the Coggin family for 75 years.

"The empty places in our hearts and family have since been filled with the love of the cousins, friends, neighbors, in-laws and outlaws who join us on the hayride each year," says Glisson. "Mama and Daddy would be so proud!"

The Thanksgiving hayride honoring Champ and Sara Coggin has become a highly anticipated event, according to their daughter who recalls only one tractor pulling a wagon on the first ride. Last year's edition called for three tractors pulling wagons, plus a few side-by-sides, she adds, noting that the family still enjoys turkey and all the trimmings on Thanksgiving Day, but the hayride has become their favorite holiday tradition.

"What was begun in sorrow when we lost both parents has grown into a joyful celebration of life, fall, family and friends," says Glisson. "By sharing this tradition born out of grief, we hope to inspire others with empty chairs at Thanksgiving to create their own special traditions. Change things up with something unexpected. It surely worked for us." NCM