The Chronicles Of Grant County

thanksgiving horn two jill wellington from pixabay 120 dpiThis image was provided courtesy of Jill Wellington from Pixabay.

Thanksgiving today is considered a truly American holiday that is celebrated by almost everyone within the country, including people throughout Grant County and New Mexico.

While the initial Thanksgivings by European settlers within the borders of what is now the United States likely took place in 1619 in Virginia and in 1621 in Massachusetts, the first national day of Thanksgiving—one set by a Congress of the United States—took place in Gulph Mills on December 18, 1777.

Most Thanksgiving celebrations were based on harvests, cultural traditions, and religious celebrations. Today, the date set aside for Thanksgiving—the fourth Thursday of November—was based on business considerations.

For decades in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Thanksgiving was the last Thursday in November. In some years, that meant the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas was a week longer than in other years. In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt declared the fourth Thursday of November to be Thanksgiving so as to lengthen the shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Details about the first official Thanksgiving in the United States were reported in the Vermont Union Whig of Rutland, Vermont, in a news article dated December 6, 1848. This newspaper re-printed a news article from the Cleveland Herald:

“During the troublesome days of the Revolution, our patriot fathers found cause for thanksgiving, and the ‘Continental Congress,’ at least twice, appointed by proclamation, a day for thanksgiving and praise. One of them was the 18th of December, 1777. The army was then at Valley Forge [actually, in Gulph Mills], and the Orderly Book of December 17, contains the following:

‘To-morrow being the day set apart by the honorable Congress for public thanksgiving and praise, and duty calling us devoutly to express our grateful acknowledgements to God for the manifold blessings he has granted us, the General [George Washington] directs that the Army retire to its private quarters, and that the chaplains perform divine service with their several corps and brigades; and earnestly exhorts all officers and soldiers, whose absence is not absolutely necessary, to attend with reverence the solemnities of the day.’”

The grave situation in Gulph Mills was described in a news article dated June 14, 1903, in the New-York Tribune: “For details of their suffering one can look here and there into the old diaries of the brave men who spent the winter there. Surgeon [Albigence] Waldo, of the 11th Connecticut Militia, wrote: ‘December 18—Universal thanksgiving—a roasted pig to-night. The army are poorly supplied with provisions, owing it is said, to the neglect of the commissary of purchases. The Congress have not made their commissions valuable enough. Heaven avert the bad consequences of these things.’”

For all its difficulties, the First Thanksgiving showcased a willingness to persevere even in circumstances exceedingly poor.

The Tampa Tribune reported in a news article dated November 22, 1907, that “In those early days the founders of the republic were wont to bestow much more attention upon the observance of Thanksgiving than was accorded Christmas, particularly in the matter of the feast. It was during the Revolutionary War that the custom of setting apart days of thanksgiving which had previously been confined largely to New England spread to other parts of the country, for during the struggle for independence the Continental Congress recommended no less than eight days of thanksgiving.” 

thanksgiving in 2009 iraqi freedom and enduring freedom 120 dpi While celebrating Thanksgiving in New Mexico in 2019, please do not forget the men and women who have been and are serving our country in Afghanistan, Syria, South Korea, Germany, and many other locales throughout the world. Ten years ago, military personnel of the United States gathered “for a Thanksgiving meal at an undisclosed base in Southwest Asia [on] November 26, 2009,” according to the United States Air Force. “Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen and Department of Defense personnel celebrated Thanksgiving together while deployed in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.” (This photograph was produced by Staff Sgt. Robert Barney and was provided courtesy by the United States Air Force.)

Do you have questions about communities in Grant County?

A street name? A building?

Your questions may be used in a future news column.

Contact Richard McDonough at chroniclesofgrantcounty@gmail.com.

© 2019 Richard McDonough

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.