Cañon City record., 1903-11-26
THANKSGIVING. z.'NY
Brc0Ll- IONS.
Some Pioneers o. 'On G, u.
scribe Their Expe. -es he :
In "Ye OiAen Tyn. zof
The Community. ~
The Community.

4
settlers Of Canon City. when inter. :
gated about his first Thanksgiving day
experience her. said, Il cannot re-
member Just when Thanksgiving day
wn, first formally observed in Canon
City. but II must have been some
pany with about twenty fnuilies. l
kft Cent-rviIle, Appanoos@ county
lowe. for Colorado in 1884. arriving at
Canon City August 18th Of that year.
eve corralled our wagons ON the
site now occupied by the Bates liouse
on River street, and proceeded To @s-
tabii.h homes for ourselves. do not
recall my first Thanksgiving day ~I-
peri-nce here. but am very sure there
was no observance of the day in the
present sense thA; fall. indeed there
wac not for several years Afterwards.
canon City Was originally settled
by Southern people, and ~ Thanks
giving ~ss New England custom.
handed down from the Puritans OF
Massachusetts, they paid hut little at
tention 10 IL as holiday.
'.whrn the Civil war came on the
FEDERAL government was unsbl- 10 sf-
ford military protection TO both the
Platte and Arkansas river trails and II
WAS withdrawn from the latter. caus-
ing Denver 10 grow at thu expense OF
Csnon City and resulting In . heavy
migration to the north from ihi. Sec
tion OF the state. A great number of
house, were vacant when we came here
on account sf people having gone bsck
var, many Of the einigrants bring
southerpers,
'.lt may have b.~n that there were
some private Thanksgiving services in
Canon City In conformity with the
frs, national Thanksgiving pr.ciama-
iion. issued by President Lincoln 10
ises. bot there WAS no public r-cogni-
tion OF the occasion, although most OF
ns wrre in thankful Mood 10y reason
Of the close Of the Rebellion.
Il r-csIl distinctly that there was
always big revival Of religion in
Canon City Immediately followin ih-.
week Of przyer In January. although IL
|. not so much the case ~ late yesr-
For fifteen or twenty years after We
Came here there WAS an snnual revival
Throughout the community. aud. while
do not believe in things coming
around IN cycles. think we'are about
10 enter another period Of remarkable
evangelical work.
When We came to Canon City from
Cent-ryiile. Iuws. most OF tn. member
shipof the baptist church at that place
came with US. for all of our party be-
lonsed to that faith, The minister OF
tn. C.nierville church cam. with us
here. but did not like Canon City and
soon Aft.rward. went to Denver. Al
there was no regular Observance OF
Thanksgiving day here until after the
clo-e of the war. Il has been g sort Of
Thanksgiving day tn me ever since
cam. to Colorado i"
When asked in relation to thu.
hr.t general observance OF Thnnksgiv-
ing day In Canon City, .Capt X. y.
Rocksf-llow stated that his initial
| celebration Of the occasion here was in
ih61. the year Of his marriage.
II came Ia Canon said MIR Rockn-
fellow. lin the sutum Of 1855 ON my
| discharge from the army In which |
had served with Michigan regiment
attached to Gen. Clusters brigade dur
ing the Civil war. We had b-en un an
expedition into the Powder river
country to punish the Indians for
depredations committed in that sec
tion and when my term of service ex-
pired I came down into Colorado to
join my father, WIN had been engaged
In minin in this section f,r some time
previously. The next spring went
east and Was married. returning here
the following summer.
Il am unable to -rate when the