Thankful

Many Americans equate November with Thanksgiving. I recall my many blessings every morning before rolling out of bed. But Thanksgiving is the formal day to acknowledge what I am thankful for.

So, here goes, in no particular order:

· My person, Chuck Schwabe

· Lucie

· Family

· Friends

· Life in Western North Carolina’s mountains

· Art—mine and others

· And y’all, my supporters

I investigated Thanksgiving and was frankly surprised to discover tidbits that might elevate you to the most interesting conversationalist around your Thanksgiving table:

1. The Continental Congress declared the first Thanksgiving in 1777. However, around 1815 the custom disappeared. In 1846, Sarah Josepha Hale, best known for writing “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” started a 17-year-presidential-letter-writing campaign that finally got the attention of President Abraham Lincoln, who in 1863 proclaimed Thanksgiving to be a national holiday.

2. At the turn of the century, Thanksgiving was creepy—people dressed up in scary masks and hosted costume crawls in major cities.

3. Up until 1932, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloons were released into the sky when the festivities were over. Macy’s offered a $50 reward for the return of a deflated balloon.

4. “Jingle Bells” was originally written for Thanksgiving. As the story goes, in 1850 James Lord Pierpont was imbibing at the Simpson Tavern in Medford, Massachusetts. After tipping a few, he glanced out the window and saw locals enjoying the town’s famous sleigh rides. Inspired, he plucked out the now classic Christmas tune on the piano.

5. Although Americans consume 46 million turkeys on Thanksgiving Day, the pilgrims and Wampanoag people, who celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621, likely served venison, swan, duck, goose, lobster, oysters, and eel.

6. Presidential Pardoning of the Turkey was started formally in 1989 by George H. W. Bush. Two turkeys are sent to the White House—one to pardon—one as backup in case the first doesn’t make it to the ceremony. However, in 2022, President Joe Biden broke tradition and pardoned both Chocolate and Chip.

7. Pumpkins are technically a fruit. The largest pumpkin pie on record weighed 3,699 pounds and was 20 feet in diameter. It was displayed during New Bremen, Ohio’s Pumpkin Fest in 2010

8. In 1953, C.A. Swanson & Sons overestimated how much turkey would sell for Thanksgiving and ended up with 260 tons of leftover frozen turkey. A forward-thinking salesman suggested creating frozen dinners in compartmentalized aluminum trays. Wala! The first TV dinners.

9. Surveyors predict over 30 million households will serve the classic green bean casserole this year. The original “Green Bean Bake” was invented by a Campbell’s Soup Company home economist in 1955. The original recipe is archived in the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio.

Intention

BOO!!