Donna Bowman and her boyfriend, John Cialek, carve turkeys at the Hudson Fish and Game Club Wednesday afternoon in preparation for the club’s annual Thanksgiving dinner. (File photo)

HUDSON – For nearly half as many years as the Hudson Fish & Game Club has existed, many of its members have celebrated Thanksgiving in a way that has become a tradition of its own.

It all started when the late Gil Knox, a Hudson resident and longtime member of the Fish & Game Club, got up early one Thanksgiving morning 30-some years ago and stopped down at the club before going home to have Thanksgiving dinner with his family.

There, Knox found three men who didn’t have anywhere to go for the holiday. So he called his wife, Karen, to ask if there was room for three more place settings at their dining room table.

So was born the tradition dubbed The Gil Knox Thanksgiving Day Dinner, which grew from three guests at the Knox residence to a handful of members gathering at the club, where Karen Knox put up a bunch of turkey dinners and brought them to the club.

It wasn’t long before the event expanded exponentially, drawing dozens of volunteers who cooked, prepared and served dinners to members and guests at the club, while others manned an assembly line where they packaged meals for delivery by another team of volunteers to homes in Hudson, Nashua and several other towns.

The numbers have fluctuated over the years, reaching a peak of upwards of 1,200 meals served or delivered to folks who otherwise may not have been able to enjoy one of America’s most traditional meals on a holiday long steeped in tradition.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.