Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-21
ALL CATCH THE SPIRIT
Newly-Made Americans APP
preciate Thanksgiving Day
WITH GOOD REASON
FOR THEY HAVE A DEAL Fol
WHICH TO BE THANKFUL
Have Their Turkey and Pumpkin
Pie in the Good Old
Way.

Written for The Evening Star by Bassett staines.
Copyright, 1908, by E. B. Warnero
Go into the foreign quarter of any Ameri-
can city and ask an Italian or Slav, or any
other immigrant, whether he celebrates the
Fourth of July, and he will shrug his
, shoulders as he processes ignorance of the
day. or answers:
mo- it's nothing to me-"
Ask him If he grows enthusiastic over
Decoration day, and you will find that 1t
leaves him cold. But just mention Thanks
giving day, and his face will light up at
once.
YES" he will tell you. I'VE eat orr
Thanksgiving dinner like any other Ameri-
cans. and go to church and give thanks,
| and have good time with the youngsters
| in the evening. Thanksgiving day means a
lot to us, for we have much to be thankful
for"
The immigrants catch the spirit of
Thanksgiving day more quickly than they
do any other American institution. The
new Americans acknowledge that this is so
by their deeds and words; and the story of
an immigrant who caught the spirit the
first day he landed is typical, even if in the
majority of cases it is not impaired so
quickly.
On bleak November morning an old
Roumanian Jew landed in New York from
Ellis lStdnO. WIN MS wire ana three chill
dren. The harbor was wrapped in man
tie of fog, which hid from their eyes the
promise of the Statue of Liberty. and the
streets of the city were swept by a driz-
Zling rain.
1t was a depressing scene. The old mans
spirits sank, and the hustle and hustle of
the Americans frightened him after his
quiet life in Roumanian village. But his
eldest son. who had preceded his father to
America, and who had sent the money to
bring the family over, met him at the dock
with a warm, filial welcome.
Come right along, father" he cried.
1--WE shall have to hurry to get home in
time for dinner
His First Thanksgiving.
And he rushed the old man and the chill
dren into a trolley car and took them over
to the East Side with all possible speed.
When they entered the house, cold, tired.
wet and hungry, an inspiring scene met
their eyes. roaring fire blazed in the
CRATE, the American flag was draped above
the mantel, and a good, old-fashioned
Thanksgiving feast was spread out upon
the table.
The turkey YVES there in all its glory
Drowned to a turn and stuffed to the burst
ing point with cheStnut-faVored dressing.
Big glass dishes full of cranberry sauce
and celery fianked it at each corner, and
two bottles Of claret stood sentinel at either
end of the table. Vegetable dishes, cakes,
sauces, and gravy bowls filled up the vacant
spaces on the board, while on a side table
the pumpkin pie held sway, surrounded by
a court of jellies, blanc-manges and tarts.
The old man stared in amaZement. All
his life long, in his Roumanian village, he
had been used to black bread, potatoes and
turnips with meat as a rare treat three or
four times year. Here was feast that
might have been spread by the lord in his
castle. What was the meaning Of it? What
had happened to his son, that he feasted
thus? 1t was no feast day of his faith.
on la OF hic 90 ~,
be hungry, and this is a day when nobody
is supposed to go hungry in America. 1t is
Thanksgiving day. Every man who, by the
sweat of his brow, has earned Thanks
giving dinner for himself and his family
is in duty bound to eat and drink and be
merry and give thanks for the blessings
he enjoys in this rich land of freedom
Much to Be Thankful For.
verify responded the old man, you
have much to be thankful for when YOU
can spread such a feast as this, which is
only enjoyed by the richest of the people in
the land of our BIRTH
And he and all his family Toasted and
made merry and reioced that they had
come to land where such things were pos
Sible.
The old man who told this story is now
in position to spread his own Thanksgiv-
ing table, which he says that he never fails
to do with enthusiasm each recurring year
His experience is that of the majority of
immigrants. who share his approval of the
great American festival.
Even those dyed-in-theWool Americans
whose ancestors came over in the May
flower will not celebrate Thanksgiving
Day more loyalty and heartily than the
thousands of newlymade Americans who
swarm in the foreign quarters of New York.
Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Buffalo,