by Donna Swagerty Shreve
The small Ford was packed on the road home to Milpitas. The year was 1924. Jack was a small baby resting in his Aunt Lucy’s arms as his father Elmer drove in the dark as night had finally come. To quiet the four children in back, they had been treated to donuts. Elsie was the oldest at age 9 and was probably in the middle of the back seat. It was best to separate the boys as they were active, boisterous fellows. Darrell, age 4, was next to her, and Floyd, age 6 was against the door on the right. Clem, age 7, was at the other door behind the driver. They had just come from the hospital visiting their dear mother Pearl. She was recovering from being repaired after six difficult births. Floyd had been the last home birth and was 12 pounds at birth. Elmer had Pearl go to the hospital for the last three births, While she rested, Lucy, who was unmarried at the time, stayed with the family to take care of the children while Elmer kept working. Lucy cooked, cleaned and ran the household so Pearl could rest and recover.
Suddenly there was a large draft in the car and Elmer yelled to Floyd to close the door. The small voice of Darrel was then heard saying, “Floyd fell out.” Elmer immediately did a drastic u-turn and went looking for his third child. There was Floyd running along the side of the road trying to catch up to the car. The seat of his pants was torn as his pants caught on the edge of the door on his way out. However, in his hand he was still clutching his donut!
That story has been told and retold over the years. The Swagerty clan is known for their appetites and Floyd might have been embarrassed by his bare bottom but was not giving up his donut. Various family members have told of their first time being invited to share a meal with the Swagertys. Harry, husband of Elsie, was the oldest of three. When he first saw the table loaded with platters of food, he felt so sorry for Pearl overestimating his appetite as he was convinced there was an impossible amount of food presented on the table. By the end of the meal, every platter was clean. Melva, wife of Floyd, came to her first family meal with the Swagertys and also was shocked by the amount of food being offered. Again the food quickly disappeared.
Every one is politely given the opportunity for the initial helpings at a Swagerty Thanksgiving. If one hesitates when getting seconds, there is a good chance they are out of luck. Pie is traditionally served for dessert. Any left over pie is first come first served for breakfast. Michael, grandson of Donna and John, slept in a bit after one Thanksgiving and went into the kitchen expecting a piece of pie. Too late.
Brian and Mary Lou have five children and as they were growing up various friends came over for a meal. There was genuine shock from Brian and Mary Lou’s children when a guest would only eat one or maybe two pieces of pizza. The next puzzle was when only one pancake was eaten by a guest for breakfast.
When Thanksgiving used to be held at Melva’s, Donna would serve pancakes for breakfast to fill up the troops so they could last until the 2:00 feast. It was usually a contest between Aaron and Todd as they were big boys and the oldest boys. Our last year having the contest, younger sister Sarah won beating out the boys by eating eight or nine pancakes when they had finally given up at seven.
Brad had a neighborhood babysitter who had a son one year older than Brad. She had several neighborhood children of similar age whom she watched for a few years. After mentioning how much a then one-year-old Brad was eating for lunch, several neighbors came over to see for themselves. Brad easily out-ate everyone sitting at the table each lunch meal.
Brian had a friend who was a science teacher when Brian and Mary Lou’s kids were growing up. He marveled at the family’s appetite and how much Mary Lou had to cook for each meal. He was amazed the Swagerty line had survived in the earliest times because the ancients would have had to have hunted and gathered much more than fellow tribesmen. He named it the Swagerty eating disorder.
In recalling Floyd and his falling out of the car, it is notable he hung on to his donut. However knowing about the Swagerty eating disorder it becomes very logical.
800 words
10/13/2025
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