Bystanders at traditional high school football games withstood cold that the windchill dropped to 19 degrees on Thanksgiving in the region.
SPRINGFIELD -- Hot turkey meals were served to thousands in halls and shelters around Western Massachusetts Thursday, but Thanksgiving travel included two fatalities in separate crashes in Springfield.
Many alumni marked the holiday by attending high school football games between traditional rivals as others prepare to enjoy the annual Tower Square Parade of the Big Balloons that begins at 11 a.m. here Friday.
The 50-foot-tall balloons depicting characters like the Cat in the Hat, Yogi Bear and the Nutcracker will begin at Main and Lyman Streets and bob along Main Street to Locust Street.
Hours before that, shoppers were expected to explode from waiting lines into stores. Many merchants were opening after midnight -- the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside opens at 12:30 a.m. -- for the annual consumer frenzy known as "Black Friday" because it is the busiest day for many retailer eager for sales to push ledgers from red to black.
The wind chill yanked down temperatures Thursday to a frigid feeling of 19 degrees.
The forecast for Friday was mostly sunny with a high near 34 degrees and calm winds. At night it will remain mostly clear but temperatures are expected to drop to 13 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
On Saturday: partly sunny and high near 31 degrees during the day and a 30 percent chance of snow showers at night with a low of 25 degrees.
On Sunday: chance of snow showers before noon followed by chance of rain and a high temperature of 39 degrees dropping to 29 degrees at night.
In Springfield, the family of the family of Allison Dwarska mourned the 17-year-old who police said was killed after the car she was riding in crashed on Roosevelt Avenue near Isabel Street about 11 p.m. Wednesday.
Family members said Dwarska was a senior at Sabis International Charter School. She was the catcher for the varsity softball team, the cheerleading captain and editor-in-chief of the yearbook staff, they said.
"She was the most caring, smart and beautiful girl," said Leslie Sias, Dwarska's aunt.
The accident is under investigation by Springfield police. The driver, also 17, has not been identified.
The second fatal accident occurred just after 4 a.m. Thursday on Parker Street in Springfield. The name of the victim, a 23-year-old Springfield resident, hasn't been released, Springfield police Sgt. John M. Delaney said.
The crash left the car, a MINI Cooper, on its side, pinned against a utility pole and a tree. Firefighters had to extricate the driver. There were no passengers.
Travel was proceeding smoothly, said state Trooper Michael MacDonald at the Springfield barracks.
"The roads are clear all the way through," MacDonald said.
In Chicopee, the the 23rd annual Knights of Columbus Fairview Thanksgiving Dinner served traditional meals to 2,000 and delivered another 2,000 to shut-ins, event founder Ronald R. Belair said.
Folks seeking a hot meal lined up 75 deep under the awning outside the Knights of Columbus at 1597 Memorial Drive at noon, greeted with a "Happy Thanksgiving" by volunteers dressed as American Indians (including Pocahontas) and Pilgrims.
The Knights of Columbus pays about $15,000 to feed the region on the holiday out of the organization's general fund and with money from a fund-raiser. That goes to 4,279 pounds of turkey, 11,000 pounds of mashed potatoes, 1,300 pounds of butternut squash and other fixings and dessert, Belair said.
In Springfield, Open Pantry Community Services served 350 to 400 meals at the High School of Commerce at 415 State St. and delivered 600 more, a volunteer said.
"With the economy the way it is, more and more people are looking for help, be it food or just companionship, someone to eat with on the holiday. Not everyone who comes is homeless. It's a community meal," said Terry S. Maxey, a volunteer and Open Pantry board member.
In Northampton, volunteers began letting in people for the annual Thanksgiving feast provided by Manna Soup Kitchen at Edwards Church at 297 Main St. at 11:45 a.m. They entered to find tables covered in white tablecloths and seven place settings. On each table were lit candles, glasses of apple cider, bread baskets and seven oranges.
Robert Carroll, the secretary of Manna’s board of directors, credited the more than 80 volunteers who made the day possible, doing everything from cooking the feast to delivering the 224 meals to people who could not make it to Edwards.
Carroll expected another 250-300 to dine at the church. To accommodate them, Manna cooked up 31 turkeys, 250 pounds of potatoes and 120 pounds of butternut squash, along with fixings and an array of desserts donated by local stores and restaurants.
In Amherst, some volunteers arrived five hours before the 2 p.m. meal. Robert Stover, a member of Not Bread Alone, which puts on the meal at the First Congregational Church at 165 Main St., made his sweet potato soufflé to go along with the traditional turkey. For vegetarians, there was a hash browns and asparagus quiche.
Stover said Not Bread Alone cooks up three meals a week at the church, drawing a core of regulars.
“Most of the people here are here a lot,” he said. “It’s very much a family.”
Among high school football rivalries decided on the holiday were Holyoke over Chicopee, 24-12, East Longmeadow over Longmeadow, 40-26, Agawam over West Springfield, 19-18 and Turners Falls over Greenfield, 28-14.
Springfield firefighters put out a blaze at a two-story, red brick home at 86 Davis St. just after 5 p.m. No injuries were reported. The fire began in the garage because items were too close to a wood stove and caused $50,000 in damage. The house itself was undamaged enough so that residents were able to stay there, said Dennis Leger, aide to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.
Reporters Lori Stabile, Jim Kinney, Fred Contrada and Stephanie Barry and Assistant Online Editor Greg Saulmon contributed to this story.