We give thanks. Thanks for stuffed celery, sweet potatoes without marshmallows, warm mince pie with brandy sauce.

We give thanks, too, for panty hose that eliminate worry about dryer, washing machine or sock-stealing ogre sneaking off with one of a pair. Panty hose march always together, are always of a matching color.

We give thanks to spunky people such as Nancy Thornton who manages the family ranch up toward the Coast Range foothills. Early on a morning, during calving, she’s making rounds on her ATV, circling the pasture to get her count — while taking time “to enjoy the uniqueness of this day.” Each morning, she says, has a different cloud formation and mist patterns.

She writes poetry when the muse hits, and spoke recently at a meeting, telling about Beverly Cleary, the famous children’s author who wrote “Girl from Yamhill.” Drive toward the west end of Third Street in that town and you will see the “gingerbread” house where Beverly lived as a child.

Be thankful, too, if you have worried about drowning in a bathtub: Your odds are only 1 in 10,455.

We give thanks for Thanksgiving in November. John Whiteaker, state of Oregon’s first governor, arbitrarily set the date of the state’s first Thanksiving as Dec. 29, 1859 — incurring severe criticism from some denominational groups. How thankful we are that in 2009, Thanksgiving and Christmas are not in the same week.

How could one start on Thanksiving offerings if the Christmas turkey had not yet been consumed?

Another thank you: We no longer have iron lungs. True, they saved lives, but the thank you is that we have improved methods of now doing so.

Belated thanks to a McMinnvillan, E. Lorne Knight, a member of the Stefansson Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1915-1919. In 1923, at age 30, he died of scurvy on Wrangell Island in southeast Alaska, while researching how to live in an Arctic clime. At McMinnville’s Soper Fountain, between the Aquatic Center and library, a plaque, erected 1932 by the citizens of Yamhill County, remembers and thanks Lorne Knight.

We give thanks for chicken and dumplings, although mine have been referred to as “little bullets” at times. Wanda Johnson makes dumplings that Julia Child would have loved: feathery light, no doughy centers.

A thank you to Wayne Beckwith of Dayton who, with his wagon and mule team, shuttled attendees between parking area and Yamhill County Historical Society’s fine new Durham Lane building during Harvest Fest. And Wayne let me drive his mule team. His mules — one was named Breezy — immediately knew I had never driven a mule team before and had fun. They headed for a wall and, had not Wayne told me to do a gee or a haw, or some such, seemingly would have taken wagon and occupants through that barrier.

We give thanks to Jeannette Walls, whose book “The Glass Castle,” made the New York Times bestseller list. The book tells about the mom and dad who made grievous errors raising their family, thereby perhaps bringing some of our own errors to light.

We give overdue thanks to Gertrude Denny, widow of Judge Owen Denny, who gave land to the U.S. government for the site of the Lafayette Locks that opened in 1900. She was a survivor of the dreadful 1847 Whitman Massacre in which 14 were killed and 53 women and children held hostage. Thanks also to Judge Denny, who, while U.S. consul at Tien-Tsin in 1881, sent a shipment of Chinese pheasants to his brother John, who lived near Lebanon. Upon their release they multiplied and became a favorite game bird in western America.

We give thanks for thoughts that lighten gray days. Does this help? “One cannot discover new oceans unless one has courage to lose sight of the shore.”

As wintery nights draw near, I give thanks for my foot-warmer rice bag. Last winter, when I complained about cold feet, a friend brought me my bag: a flannel pouch, about 10 inches square, sewed on all sides, and containing rice. Pop it in the microwave for a minute or so, and take it to bed. It snuggles around one’s feet and stays hot an unbelievably long time. You’ll be asleep before it has cooled.

We give thanks for chairs, because where else would one put one’s clothes when they are taken off at night, if one is too lax to put them elsewhere.

We give thanks for athletic coaches who are concerned with building players into fine citizens, and not just winning games. The television cameras told such a story during a Pac-10 football game. The new coach of one of the teams had not yet won a game. His team this day was scoreless and taking a drubbing. With minutes to go in the fourth quarter, his team made it to the red zone, couldn’t get a touchdown. The it was fourth down.

They took a time out, would attempt a field goal. The cameras caught the coach talking to the field goal kicker who looked scared, what with the responsibility of his team getting its only points. The coach looked calm. This was no life and death matter. He put his hand on the kid’s shoulder, parent-like. You could almost read his lips as he said to the kicker: “This is your moment. Enjoy it. You can do it.” And he smiled at that kid.

That player suddenly exuded anticipation and confidence. He squared his shoulders, proudly marched onto the field, and kicked the ball cleanly between the goal posts. We give thanks to coaches, such as Linfield’s Paul Durham and Ad Rutschman, who looked far beyond the winning of a game.

We give thanks for the Second Winds Veterans Concert at the Community Center. We kept time to their “Fidgety Feet” rendition, sang along to “White Cliffs of Dover,” teared up when members of the audience stood as music for their branch of the service was played.

The final number: “God Bless America.” We sat for a moment, listening, as that whole stage-full of musicians played that stirring song. And then, as if on command, the entire audience stood — a thank you to our armed forces — and America.

Elaine Rohse is a longtime McMinnville resident who shares a love of traveling and golf with her husband, Homer.