Written by Lynn Allen, Executive Director/Curator~ Brown County Historical Society
Special Note: Brown County Historical Society Board of Directors wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Do you have other Thanksgiving holiday memories from school, such as coloring pictures of a cornucopia, pilgrims, and indigenous people gathered at a feast? Sadly, to arrive at that peaceful table, there were many not-so-wonderful memories. So, here are a few details that may illuminate the holiday! The first celebration took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1621, and it was not a one-and-done meal but a three-day festival! Add that gravy boat to your hat! The indigenous tribe was the Wampanoag people; for them, it was a day of remembrance rather than a food-inspired feast! The first Thanksgiving included at least 90 tribal members, and 50 pilgrims were at the dinner! We may encounter a few more reasons to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! The original journey of the pilgrims to the colonies was difficult! Seventy-five percent of the women perished. The remaining pilgrims comprised 22 men, four women, and 25 children and teenagers! What the cornucopia!!! Who was doing the dishes!!! And I thought dinner for eight to ten-ish was a nightmare! The celebration included games of marksmanship (like archery) and hunting. It took the tribal leaders a two-day walk to get to the feast! The Wampanoag leader, Massasoit, negotiated the peace treaty in 1620! The peace remains intact for approximately ten years following the treaty’s signing!
The dinner table most likely did not have your usual Thanksgiving food items, and the meal would have included staples of the day such as seal, cod, bass, duck, goose, deer, swans, and turkey. The vegetable lineup would have included the table included onions, beans, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, carrots, and perhaps peas. Maize (corn)(keep in mind corn was not native to America, and we must remember to give thanks for this wonderful treat.) once removed from the hull and ground into cornmeal, then boiled and served as porridge, sometimes sweetened with molasses. Hold onto your as potato, sweet or white, was nowhere to be found at that first feast and equally alarming while both parties at pumpkins and squash the resources that included butter or flour for a crust were unavailable. The pumpkins met another delectable fate: they would add milk, honey, and spices to the hollowed-out gourd and place it over the fire, creating a custard of sorts! It sounds like a tradition I might have to give a whirl or a hollowed-out gourd whirl! As always, there is so much more to every story! Gobble.. Gobble.. them up! And be sure to stop by and share with me what you discover! #historymysteries
Pictured Thanksgiving Postcard Treasure is part of the Brown County Historical Society Collection.
Forest of Words 