THANKSGIVING LUNCH

I have just returned from Thanksgiving Lunch (stuffed with eating too much turkey and pecan pie!) and wanted to say a big thank you on behalf of the OWC members to Susan Hopper for her generous hospitality.

The food was lovely, the weather was kind to us and the lunch reflected the true spirit of Thanksgiving, that of sharing.
For those of you who are not familiar with the history of Thanksgiving I took the liberty of taking one of the printed sheets explaining about the background, which Susan had kindly put on every table, and have replicated it here.
'Many countries and cultures celebrate harvest festivals and days of thanksgiving. American Thanksgiving traces it's roots to the Pilgrims, religious dissidents who, in 1609, fled religious persecution in their native England. They sailed to Holland, but after several years they thought the Dutch way of life 'sinful' and left for the New World. After a 65 day voyage, they settled in 1620 in what later became Plymouth, Massachusetts.
That first winter was harsh and devastating. Of the 110 Pilgrims and crew who sailed on their small ship, the Mayflower, only 50 survived that first winter. Eventually, a Native American by the name of Squanto befriended the Pilgrims. Since he had visited England, he spoke English. Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to tap the maple trees for syrup, which plants were poisonous and which had medicinal powers, and how to plant corn. The harvest of 1621 was very successful and plentiful. They had corn, fruits, vegetables, fish packed in salt, and cured meat. The Pilgrims were at peace with their Indian neighbours. Their Governor, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving that was to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native Americans.
The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving held after the harvest continued through the years. In the 1770's the Continental Congress suggested a day of national thanksgiving. New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then, each President has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday'.

Jo