When one thinks of Thanksgiving, there is the food, of course, but the first image that comes to mind is really that of family. As the first major holiday of the year, it is usually a time to see family members who are too far away to visit with regularly, and it is a cherished time to see them once again.

That holds true for Jim Rogers, a native of Demopolis now lives in Singapore, and his brother, Broughton Rogers, who lives here in Demopolis. Every Thanksgiving, they visit their mother in Birmingham, but this holiday, Jim found the time to come home again for the first time in more than three years.

“Broughton is the only family I have still here in Demopolis,” he said. “Him and Dee Lott, my cousin.

“Broughton and I were in Birmingham (on Thanksgiving. I live in Singapore now, and my wife and two children flew from Singapore to Vienna to New York to Birmingham. My mother is in an assisted living nursing home in Birmingham now. We spent Thanksgiving with her. Broughton drove up, and we all had Thanksgiving together.”

The two brothers decided to come down to Demopolis Thanksgiving night for a hometown visit.

“Thursday night, I came down here to Demopolis, because I haven’t been to Demopolis in a while, and I was really keen to see Demopolis,” Jim said. “We drove around Demopolis that night, and we drove around some (on Friday), and then, I’m going back to Birmingham to be with my mother and two daughters.”

Another reason for the Birmingham visit is so Jim’s 8-month-old daughter can be baptized in church on Sunday.

“Broughton is coming up for that,” Jim said, “and some of my other brothers, as well, for the baptism.”

Broughton enjoyed the visit with his brother, as the two drove around town to relive memories. Jim graduated from Demopolis High School in 1960, while Broughton was a 1967 DHS graduate.

“He took us out to eat (Thursday night),” Broughton said. “We drove around Demopolis and went to the Red Barn and saw some people. Jim saw Roger Roberts, and I saw a couple of people.”

It was a pleasant Thanksgiving for their mother to see her sons together.

“She had not seen the two of us together in a while,” Jim said. “I usually get to Alabama at Thanksgiving. Our mother is 89 years old, and she’s very, very keen and excited when we come over.”

Jim said that two other brothers will be in Birmingham for his daughter’s baptism.

“They have five sons,” he said. “I saw one of the sons, Mabry, Tuesday night when we arrived in Birmingham. Then, he and his wife flew to California on Wednesday to see one of their daughters. I will see all of my brothers at some time or another during this trip, but I will not see all four of them.”

That speaks to the commonality of family members coming home from all over for a chance to get together for however short a time before leaving to tend to other responsibilities and other parts of their lives.

The food is a great part of Thanksgiving, but the key ingredient to any Thanksgiving meal is family.