Kenney Thomas’s 1967 VW racecar. He did 80 percent of the restorative work on this car and has been racing it for 21 years. He comes back every three years to the Hall’s Hill Turkey Bowl, but lives and races down in North Carolina. Photo by Eden Brown/The Connection
Arlington has a way of unfolding its secrets slowly, a magician with successive rabbits coming out of its hat. A great many residents of Arlington had no idea there was a Thanksgiving morning tradition taking place in Hall’s Hill for the past 40-plus years, a football game with tackling and no padding, played by men and women (in two separate games), and pitting the old guys (over 30) versus the young guys (under 30). In an era where people seem afraid to take risks, this is all about clean, competitive, community football where occasionally players do get carried off the field. This year, the old guys beat the young guys. Just barely.
And for those who have given up football or come later, there is still a version of the old vintage car parade that is a part of the Turkey Bowl tradition, even if it was toned down a while back because the police said it was too rowdy for the neighborhood street. Barbecues were lit up, a DJ played music, and friends who hadn’t seen each other since high school met up and took pleasure in the holiday of Thanksgiving.
Andrew Dandridge said he had been one of the original Turkey Bowl founders: he is one of the few Hall’s Hill residents who still lives in the neighborhood. Many of his friends have been priced out of Arlington. This is a big event for him, and others, because as he said, “It is like a family reunion. People come back every year or so, from near and far, to watch the game, to watch the cars, and to talk to each other.”
Hundreds of spectators line the fence on Cameron Street at High View Park to watch the game, but they are just as interested in who shows up for the event. As many attendees confirmed, “Everybody just comes back home.” The good cheer, smiles, and hugs up and down the street were proof that Hall’s Hill remains the tightly knit community it has been since the late 1860s.