It's less than a week until Thanksgiving and families all over the Tri-State are busy getting ready for the holiday and the traditional Thanksgiving day feast. But one local family is busier than most. The Tewes clan will spend the next several days processing thousands of turkeys on their farm in Erlanger. That's where Local 12's Joe Webb spent the day -- a place that is So Cincinnati.
Dan Tewes is the local turkey man. He's raised this brood since they were chicks not as big as his hand. "This bunch is probably 1500 turkeys. Hens will be about 20-25 pounds. Toms will go between 30-40 pounds. How many turkeys will you process and sell in the next week? We'll go through right around 3,000 turkeys next week. We'll start processing tomorrow which will be Saturday."
That's 6,000 drumsticks... between 30 and 35 tons of turkey. When you do the math, the odds of any of these birds surviving the week are not so good. "These will be gone next week. Every one of em."
It's an annual rite of passage for turkeys on the Tewes farm. Dan's grandfather started raising chickens about 90 years ago. His mom and dad moved the farm to this location in 1944. They originally raised brown turkeys...but found the white variety get bigger, plumper and taste better.
Tewes farm is an honest-to- goodness family business and the Teweses are a real family. John and Mary Tewes raised quite a brood of their own-17 children. Dan was number 13. Dan's daughter Lauren is one of 80 Tewes grandchildren. She pitches in around Thanksgiving. Dan's wife Darlene keeps things moving in the office and storefront. "On a turkey farm, this week is crazy every year. The work of processing 3,000 turkeys gets done because of 17 kids, 80 grandkids and 140 great grandkids."
Thanksgiving week is a family reunion for the Teweses. They come back to the farm to work. "Any one day there'll be 30 to 40 each day. BLOOD RELATIVES? Blood relatives, yes."
Every day, they break from work and eat traditional Thanksgiving day fare in the family farmhouse. Five feasts for the workers who make Thanksgiving special for the customers. "It's completely different than a frozen turkey. It's the best turkey I've ever had so ever since we started buying them here we come here every year. A Thanksgiving tradition rooted in Kentucky but is So Cincinnati.
Tewes farm has already taken 1500 orders for turkeys this year. They expect another 1500 people will walk in to buy a turkey. By the way -- they are closed Thanksgiving Day.
