Pocono News Section

Berwick Family's Thanksgiving Day Tradition Continues

Berwick Family's Thanksgiving Day Tradition Continues - Thursday, November 27, 2008 at 3:28PM EST

BERWICK, COLUMBIA COUNTY -- Many people know the Run for the Diamonds is a Thanksgiving Day tradition in Berwick, but we went inside one family's celebration along the race route.

"We love people in our house – the more, the merrier," said Stacie Palermo, and that's exactly what she gets every Thanksgiving at her Market Street home in Berwick.

"My husband started it with 7 or 8 people, and it's grown to 85 or 90 people on the porch," she added.

"It definitely grows, between children and grandchildren," said 91-year-old Lillian DiPippa, who is celebrating her first big holiday following open heart surgery in April.

"Every day I get up, go to church, do what I have to do, and I exercise two times a week," DiPippa added.

She’s excited to have a feast with her family – they’ve cooked a 25 pound turkey, a 25 pound ham, and all the fixin's.

"It's a lot of food, a lot of food," said Maria McCabe, DiPippa's daughter. She and the rest of the family laughed when we asked her what they do with the leftovers. "What leftovers?"

When the family and friends aren’t inside cooking or eating, they’re outside cheering those who are running for the diamonds, and they do their own run for the porch.

"A lot of people just come out to see the race and enjoy themselves on the porch, have something to drink or so forth. They really enjoy coming here to watch it," said DiPippa.

"It gets crazy," McCabe added. "They dance, they sing. When the runners come by, we give them the most encouragement."

"I ran the race four times, and you look forward to coming around the corner here," confirmed Shannon McCabe.

The runners certainly do, too, picking up the pace here and sometimes stopping for a beverage in a special edition, “P

alermo’s Annual Run for the Porch” cup.

"We do it every year," said Julie Rishkofski, a family friend. "We get up at 6am, put the turkey in the oven, and run for the porch."

It's a run that’s been going strong here for 15 years – and hopefully many more to come.