Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1925-11-19

jollity and of home and state And in its historical
associations it's century and half older than
even Independence Day. Thanksgiving Day takes
us back, willy, nilly to Plymouth Rock and the
Pilgrims of 1920. And it should be Will l, rather
than Mil l.
The Presidents gaze is fixed you will note on
the bas-relief depicting the signing In the cabin
of the Pilgrim ship Of the "Mayfower Compact"
That deservedly famous document should be read
by all on every Thanksgiving Day-and here it IS
In the name OF God Amen We whose names are
unuerWrltten, the loyal subjects Of dread
soveraigne Lord King James, by the grace of God
of Great Britain, France and ireland King De-
fender of the Faith &C.
Having undertaken for the glory of God and
advancement Of the Christian Faith, and honour
OF our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the
hrst Colony in the Northern part Of Virginia doe
ey these presents solemny mutually in the pres
enc1 I, u eIon ana one or another covenant and
combine ourselves together into civil body poll
tike, for our better ordering preservation and
Lurtnerance OF the ends aforesaid; and by vertue
hereof to enact, constitute and frame such Just
and equal Lawes, Ordinances, acts constitutions,
ohces from time to time, as shall be thought
most meet and convenient for the general good of
the colony; unto which promise all due submis-
hereunder subscribed our names. Cape Cod 18th, OF
November, in the yeare of the raigne Of our Sow
eraigne Lord King lanes of England, France and
Ireland Is and Scotland 81 Ammo Domino 1920.
1t would be interesting-and important-to
know the thoughts of President Coolidge at the
monument for he has long been a close student
of his country's history. Moreover his American
ancestry goes back to the beginning of things in
New England and his first American ancestors lie
close by, in the old burial ground of WATERFOWL
These ancestors were Puritans not Pilgrims
John Coolidge (16041691) the first of the Ameri-
can line, arrived among the first of the Puritans
in 1880, with his wife Mary and one child. His
son Simon (1632-1693) was the first kmerican-born
Coolidge
Every good American should know the difference
between the Pilgrims q620) and the Puritans
Q63O) The Pilgrims "Separatists"- withdrew
from the established church Of England in order
to have the right to choose their own ministers,
then appointed by bishops. They held church and
state to be separate; several influential members
of the Plymouth colony were not church members
They were not concerned about the religion of
others; they asked only religious freedom for
themselves They were largely simple country
folk. They were without capital. They practically
sold themselves to hard labor for seven wears to
get to the New World
The Purtans did not separate from the estab-
lished church. They undertook to make formal
changes to suit themselves They held church and
state to be one; only church members had the
rights of freemen and the power to vote All
other creeds were anathema. The Puritans of
1880 under Gov John Winthrop included many of
the English gentry and came in a fleet Of ten
ships to Massachusetts bay, with goods and live
stock valued at one million dollars
We may know in general the thought of Presi-
dent Coolidge regarding the Pilgrims AS governor
Of Massachusetts, he delivered an address at the
Tercentenary Celebration at Plymouth, saying in
part:
There among them small trace Of the vani-
ties Of life. They came unlocked with orders of
nobility. They were not the children of fortune
but Of tribulation. Persecution preference,
brought them hither But it a persecution
in which they found a stern satisfaction. They
cared little for titles, still less for the goods of
this earth, but for idea they would die.
Measured by the standards of of their time
they were the humble of the earth Measured by
later accomplishments they a mighty
host of whom the world not worthy destined
to free mankind No captain ever led his forces to
snch conquest. Oblivious to rank, yet
to them their lineage to royal house .
What increase material and spiritual, three
hundred years have brought that little company
lie known to all the earth. No like body ever cast
great influence on human history. Civlza-
ton has made their landing place a shrine
The first American Thanksgiving Day was cele-
brated December 13, 1921, within few days of