In “Thanksgiving Baton Rouge Style” featured in the November 1956 edition of The Register, writer Patricia Wilson Baldridge begins: “Holiday-loving Baton Rouge is tingling with plans and parties, special cooking and fall decorations, and that happy friendly feeling that blankets the city heavily every year about this time.” Nearly 70 years have passed, yet that same air returns every November.

The article recounts the detailed plans of several local families, some celebrating their first Thanksgiving as Baton Rougeans while others look forward to welcoming out-of-town guests or marking the occasion in a new home in their native city. Of course, there’s the hustle to prepare the turkey, oyster dressing and other buffet table staples, but we all know where the real magic happens. Kids of all ages roam free and play loudly while parents, cousins, neighbors and friends sit back, get cozy and catch up.

Baton Rouge is a port city known for its exports. But the industrial, petrochemical and medical industries that are just as integral to the culture and economy also import thousands of new residents each year. As The Register noted in 1956, for many of them, their first Thanksgiving here is almost guaranteed to be sunnier and hotter than their usual celebration. While the weather will surely be free of a nippy frost or wet snow northern natives may be accustomed to, the season’s warmth extends to how we host, by serving up secret recipes, welcoming hugs and conversations over aperitifs. That’s Thanksgiving, Baton Rouge style.