As Mr. Thanksgiving's self-imposed retirement deadline draws ever closer - this year's feast will be No. 39 and he vows to quit after 40 - the Quad-Cities' most famous turkey purveyor is turning feisty.

"Forty will be the ruby anniversary, and people keep trying to get me to go to 50, a golden anniversary," Bob Vogelbaugh, a.k.a. Mr. Thanksgiving, said at his annual November news conference Thursday. "Golden? Heck, I'll probably be dead by then. If I can get my ruby slippers, that will be enough."

Meantime, there is plenty of work and worry to concentrate on this year, Vogelbaugh said.

Although the dinner has always been about fellowship - and not a "charity" dinner - he suspects that the number of diners will swell even higher because of the still-shaky economy.

"You see on the news that food pantries and shelters are so busy," Vogelbaugh said.

With that in mind, the turkey order has been upped from just more than 2,000 pounds to 2,500 pounds, and he plans to double canned goods and the other food that is pre-ordered. He also is hopeful for a spike in donations.

"I know there's only so much money to spread out, I'm just counting on the big guy in the sky to make it work out," he said.

Vogelbaugh is expecting a crowd of 2,500 diners and 500 volunteers to crowd into SouthPark Mall on Thanksgiving Day. The dinner started more humbly in 1970 when Vogelbaugh hosted a couple of customers from his small grocery store in Moline.

The closing of the Garfield's Restaurant & Pub at SouthPark in May could have thrown a wrench in the plans for this year's dinner, but the restaurateurs who own Habaneros and the owner of Catalina's Bakery in the mall came forward to fill the breach.

"Someone from the mall staff came and talked to us, and we just wanted to help," said Rolando Moran, one of the Habaneros owners. "We've been part of this community a long time."

Vogelbaugh, looking jaunty in a light blue baseball cap and matching sweater, reiterated his desire to retire in 2010.

He said he is not actively looking for a successor, after a failed attempt to pass on the tradition a couple years ago fizzled out because of several misunderstandings.

"When I do step down, I don't want my name connected to it any more," he said. "If someone wants to take it over and do it themselves, they can."