Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-11-22
BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON

SIX ten Americans Why do we cele-
brate Thanksgiving on the last Thurs
day In November?" and nine of them
"~ probably will answer "Why, that's
because the Pilgrim Fathers who es-
E9 tablished 1t celebrated 1t them" And
that, like SO many of our popular
~ beliefs" is only a half-truth, at best
It's true that the Pilgrim Fathers were
principally responsible for Thanksgiving day be-
Ing a red-letter day on our calendars. But it's
also true that we owe the establishment of
thanksgiving day as a national holiday on a GER
tain date Certain to the extent that 1t always
occurs on the last Thursday in November) main.
ly to two persons, a man and a woman, to Abra-
ham Lincoln and Sarah Josepha Hale.
But before discussing their part In the matter
or establishing this popular national holiday,
let's check up a bit on the history of the de-
velopment of Thanksgiving. The story Of the
first New England Thanksgiving. from which our
present-day celebration Is a direct descendant.
is familiar to all Americans-how that first
winter OF the Pilgrims In America had been a
terrible one of cold and sickness which had left
only So of the little company of 101 alive when
the spring of 1921 came around. how all through
the summer they watched with the greatest
anxiety the progress of the crops they had sown,
and how when autumn came there was q boun-
tiful harvest.
Then, according to Mounts Relation, or Jour
nal Of the Plantation at Plymouth: "Our har-
vest being gotten In, our Gouvenour sent foure
men on fowling, that SO we might after a more
special manner %rejouce together, after we had
gathered the fruit of our labours; they foure in
one day killed as much fowle. as with a little
helpe besides, served the Company almost a week,
at which time amongst other Recreations, we
exercised our Armes, many of the Indians CON-
ing amongst us, and amongst the rest their
greatest King Massasoyt, with some ninetie men,
whom for three dayes we entertained and
Toasted. and they went out and killed five
Deere, which they brought to the Plantation and
bestowed on our Gouvernour, and upon the Cap
taine, and Others"
The popular view is that this first Thanks
giving" was the beginning of a series Of such
celebrations every year. But the fact is that
the following year, 1922. no such observance oc-
Cured. In 1923 q day Of thanksgiving was held
but not In the autumn and not in connection
with the harvest. 1t was observed on July 80
and had to do with the safe arrival of a ship
load of provisions from England.
From then on for decades Thanksgiving was
observed In most irregular fashion. Som years
were skipped; some years had more than one
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. for the arrival Of ships,
oilSu " fiNAOAy oftI lut luufhuSs DIS III TIE
instance Of quelling the Pequots In 1887 and the
defeat OF King Philip In 1876. II was not until
1889 that the Massachusetts general court issued
the first recorded formal Thanksgiving proc
1amatIon.
During the Revolutionary war the people and
the army observed an annual Thanksgiving day
by proclamation OF the Continental congress. but
after peace was declared 1t was discontinued
until 1888.
In that year a new element came into the
observance Of Thanksgiving and one which has
survived In the present celebration. That was
the Presidential proclamation of a Thanksgiving
day for the whole nation and 1t was George
Washington. the first President, who issued such
a proclamation setting aside Thursday, Novem-
Der &c, 1889, as the day.
1t so happened that Thursday, November &c,
1889, was the last Thursday in November that
year and that fact was to have an important
bearing on the later history of Thanksgiving
day, as we shall see farther on In this article.
But although Washington was the first to issue
a Presidential proclamation for a national
Thanksgiving day, he did not establish a prece-
dent which was followed consistently. During
his second administration he again issued a
proclamation. On January /, 1895, !