A Thanksgiving to Inspire the Ages
“Thanksgiving reminds us that no matter what befalls us in life, we can take the charred remnants and we can reconstruct a life unimaginably richer than that from which the shards and pieces fell.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough, author and counselor.
The year was 1621. A small group of settlers in a far-off land wrote home to friends and family to inform them of their status. As part of this dispatch, a man named Edward Winslow described a three-day feast held in honor of the group’s first harvest.
“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labor,” Winslow wrote. “They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which we brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others.”
Just 115 words, this passage conveys our entire knowledge of the first Thanksgiving celebration in America. Some historians quibble with that assertion and point to festivities at other locations more deserving of the “first” title, but popular opinion reserves the honor to the 53 surviving members of the voyage of the Mayflower. The positive tone of Winslow’s report conceals a year of hardship and loss, making his upbeat account all the more remarkable.
The journey that led these hardy settlers to the coast of present-day Massachusetts began more than a year earlier in Holland. A community of religious separatist Christians decided to travel to The New World in hopes of practicing their religion free from the heavy hand of the Church of England. The “saints” (the term Pilgrim was applied by historians later) booked passage on the Speedwell, a small sailing ship. The plan was to travel in union with a larger ship, the Mayflower, which originally carried mostly immigrants and adventurers.
Barely underway, the Speedwell took on water. The party turned back twice to make repairs. The Speedwell was eventually abandoned and its passengers crowded onto the Mayflower. Designed to ferry cargo, the Mayflower now hosted a crew of about 30 men, plus 102 passengers, who berthed in the ship’s shallow gun-deck.
The delays pushed the journey into late autumn, when gales blew fierce in the Atlantic. The passage was difficult and the Mayflower suffered damage. Two lives were lost during the 66 days at sea. Another life began with the birth of a child on board the vessel. Illness was rampant.
When the Mayflower neared land, the inhabitants discovered they had arrived hundreds of miles from their intended destination in the Virginia Colony. Attempts to proceed south were thwarted. Arriving in November with winter upon them, the party spent the next months aboard the ship, where the settlers drafted the Mayflower Compact, the first document establishing a government in The New World.
The following months were brutal. The group was wracked by scurvy, pneumonia, tuberculosis and malnutrition. Barely half of the original party survived, and the better part of those were children or teenagers. The Mayflower left England with 18 married couples, but only four adult women were alive a year later.
Thanks to help from members of a nearby Indian tribe, including several English-speaking members, a remnant survived that first winter. Guided by their neighbors they learned to plant corn and managed to raise a crop. They built houses and a common meeting hall and began to rebuild their lives. It is against this backdrop that the saints of Plymouth celebrated God’s blessings in the fall of 1621.
“And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty,” Winslow wrote, offering little indication of the troubles that had beset them the previous year.
No one wants to be told their own trials and tribulations pale in comparison to those of others. We all have our own burdens to bear, and each is heavy enough. Even so, the story of the Plymouth settlers offers inspiration. Despite a torturous ocean crossing and a harrowing winter during which they buried half of their companions, the saints still saw fit to offer thanks to God.
As we gather with our friends and loved ones this Thanksgiving, let’s try to adopt the spirit of the Pilgrims. Let us all count our blessings and give thanks to our God, which brought us through our trials. May you all have a happy and joyous Thanksgiving.
Thank you for reading this legislative report. You can contact my office at (573) 751-2108 if you have any questions. Thank you and we welcome your prayers for the proper application of state government.