The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-11-19
lBy. o. c. Gregg,

the past and that memory is our con.
slant companion. Now l think this
is true with very many people who
draw near to tho three-score-years-
and-ten perior. but on the other hand
/ know that ii is not needful for one
who has reached that way station OF
life to live in the past alone. Tina:
will depend upon how the person has
spent the days of his youth and man
hood. Now it is Very proper thai IN.
old should live in the past and take
much comfort from it, provided only
that their youth and manhood have
been spent in a r"asona hly good man
ner. In sue 4 case menoor become:
a minister of JOY and is not to be neg
lected. In addition to this. however.
if the person has formed the habits
of industry and has beer a diligent
worker. chen those habits will follow
and with them there will come. as a
natural consequence. tho presence AZ
a hope for the betterment OF things.
Here We have on. Very particular
thing u mention. II is Very necdtul
tina, :llo employment that shall en-
gage most Of his time during his old
age shall not he entirely OF a physical
nature. Advancing years will surely
limit his physical vigor so that he
cannot endure the labor Of youth and
mature manhood. Rut. if. in addition
w lti. pI!t ~ Az llaS pNSl ~
reader, and has found iov in reading
books and current literature. then il
is Very easy for him TO be employed
to a good extent with the writings u!
those that are a source of inforna-
ton and comfort 70 him, n with il
r,insle a reasonable amount of labor
tha; he can do without o%vertaXing his
strength. Here. ! think. We have a
good combination for the spending Of
an old age. We are now about 20
enter a great dav that was SO prom
inent in New England in my earlier
days. I am pleased TO call to mind.
nv the aid cf a emo which is VERY
fresh and vigorous. some things which
We're peculiar 20 that great festival.
Thanksgiving day in New ENGLAND was
more noticeable as a holiday han II
other day Of the year. We all under
stand that in MANY of the old coun-
tries greater stress is laid upon Christ
mas. This is true O fthe German
people as we'll as the English nnon'o
THANKSGIVING day is purely a New Eng
land anniversary.
Tho Origin of Thanksgiving Day.
We all know in a general way how
this day was instituted, hut thint
it will +aka a New England mar 10
understand it To that full extent that
he alone is able to do. AS I now write
] can see so distinctly not only the
people who formed the Pilgrim band
pvt noting. as ! do. the New England
wera in their mental and religious
attitude. believe this the readers
Of the Aericnlturist will be interested
In noting SOME things which made
the early pilgrims a peculiar people
IN the first -'ace they We're Eng
lisn raised. Now this was a serious
handicap to those who had left thei-
Y1o$hnp po,,N$r,. (;,j;~ooxix> o.5 Is.
gun a settlement so far awav from
their horn" la-d =, that country whiri,
they fo'tod unon the New ENGLAND
shore. This hnndirao consisted in
that ultra conservative mind of tn.
ENGLISH neople. It is well nown that
ain Fnglishnlan is very thorough in
what he dnes but is very ant to I've
he has beer taught In other words.
j." lacks that peculiar initiative, and
that aptitude TO do new things quick
~ when now conditions demand a
change '* va NOW regard that com
panv of Pilgrims as they we're at Ply
mouth. we can see so clearly that If
they only could have had q different
attitude in his respect. they could
have avoided very much Of the suf-
FERN" that they passed through and
could have hda more of the provisions
that were needed for them 10 be we'll
sustained to do the arduous work
which was before them. Necessity
compelled them to look about and Sc.
what they could n to meet the de
mands of hunger and sc supply them.
selves with food. They obtained corr
from the Indians. They hunted as ar
Epglisnman would but not with tn.
Skill of the native Indian hunter. Now
as a consequence of these things. tina
colony stood. at one time, in grea,
need OF certain provisions and com.
forts that should come from thei,
when that ship appeared that the,
had long hoped for. It's coming CAV.
us the beginning of our New England
Thanksgiving day.
In the next place those Pilgrim:
who We're tn" forefathers of the New
Ino'and people had a very peculiar
religious attitude. ] think 1t will in.
having been $50 moulded by Certain
positive forces. They had been perse,
cuted because of their religious belief
That persecution had been most SO
we're. 1t had driven them from theil
original English home to HOLLAND
where the" had a measure Of religion.
liberty. That country. however. CAV,
them no opportunity for a settlement
and for the founding of such a societ.
as they believed in. This led them 4
leave Holland and emigrate to a new
and to them unknown country.
Now Il religious nature has som
pcculiarities. First of all it is ON,
OF the strongest elements of the spiri
which is in man. A brief review @
the history of the world will give am
pie evidence Of this truth. It wa
the religious element hat built tn
rrram!ds of Egypt. 1t is the religion
element that has entered into som
of tn" ~fercest wars that world ha
""nr own Tho religious element
when considered nv itself, has give,
'''''" TO some of the strongest super
f'H'on that cv"r has possessed tn
fN~"" sorl. This r%eligious e1emen
iF CIV '''sn some OF the hardest stoc'
800 we 6o' in our trees. IT will with
e''"a a1 the vicissitndes OF life an
sfW i've II is however, absolutci
essential that this great force he prop
e"'v educated.
The old question AS to whether con
science is a safe guile for life shout
he answered always in the negativ,
An uneducated conscience may lea
to very d'reful results. 1t is a might
power without proper direction,
great en~ine without IL skillfuI enp
neer at the throttle. a powerful sten, "
ship without a we'll trained and G,
p perienced captain. Now these pilsrj,
fathers had n very strong religoo,
nature. Such a nature will vary
na~tionalities hut II is present with a
nations. Rarharous nations have I
it is said that there is no tribe on III
face of the earth hut what gives ev
dence Of this peculiar faculty of II