It was dramatic to watch [my grandmother] decapitate [a turkey] with an ax the day before Thanksgiving. Nowadays the expense of hiring grandmothers for the ax work would probably qualify all turkeys so honored with gourmet status.
Source: In NY Times, 27 Nov 85
-- Russell Baker, (Aug 14 1925-2019), US journalist, author, humorist; He was a columnist for the NY Times; won a Pulitzer, 1982, for his autobiography, Growing Up.