It's Thanksgiving time at the Snyder house, and this year an array of pies and casseroles were laid out in Emma's kitchen (everyone's favorite set), many of them missing some pieces. "We were nibbling on the cranberries and the pecan pie yesterday," admits Marie Wilson (Meg) on the taping day. She also reported that the grand Snyder tradition — the cutting of the Hubbard Squash — won't be missed. "The squash is delivered by Holden. It was funny because he had this line about how heavy the squash is, and it wasn't."

As for that odd gourd-busting ritual, it was created — like the Snyders themselves — by late Head Writer Douglas Marland, who grew up on a farm at the end of Snyder Road. "It's been done ever since I started there. Doug was very specific about characters and tradition, especially with that family. And cutting the squash came with the Snyder family package," says Martha Byrne (Lily). "We were just talking about that the other day: where these Snyders came from, like who represented who in Doug's family. Seth, Emma, Holden ... they were created based on people he knew. Emma was written for Kathleen Widdoes, and was based on his mother."

It's a (fairly) Happy Thanksgiving at Emma's this year, so we put together a little photo album featuring the Snyders who couldn't make it.

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