My wife and I were in New England in the first part of October of 1982. We drove north out of New York City and took in the grandeur of the changing seasons as we headed toward a nights stay in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The next morning we awoke and took a drive out to the Plymouth colony, a recreation of what was on that site in the year of 1627, seven years after the pilgrims had first set foot on Plymouth rock in 1620. The people who were represented in 1627 were basically the same people who had arrived in 1620, augmented by some additional ones who had come across the stormy north Atlantic in succeeding years.

The first year in America was a difficult one for the pilgrims as they had come to this continent late in the year of 1620 and they faced what has been known as “the starving times� during the long and difficult winter that they faced that year. Many of them did not survive that first winter, and, if it had not been for the mercy of the local Indian tribes, all of them would have joined the list of other failures that had come before them. Other ships had left settlers before them only to return later to find no evidence of anyone left alive. The most notable of these was the Roanoke colony in Virginia which had totally dissdapeared by the time that resupply ships could return to them.

The settlers at Plymouth were known to modern history as pilgrims, however, serious historians of the time called them “saints and sinners� because they were a mixture of very serious religious elements and of those who simply wanted to come to America for a new start in life. Many of the sinners had fled Europe to escape the wrath of the local law while the saints fled to escape the religious persecution that would not let them practice their faith as they would have like to have done so. In Europe at the time of the arrival in America in 1620, England, in particular, had a state faith known as the Church of England, with the monarchy as its head, and, they broached very little deviation from that faith. The Puritans who comprised the saints of the Plymouth group, were very strict in their own right but they would not bow down to the King of England or his insistence to an adherence to his faith. It is interesting to note that, in our present day, the term “puritanical� co notates a very strict and unbending adamancy to a way of life and faith. In 1620, however, the puritans were considered to be very radical and were not wanted in either England or in most of Europe.

As a contrast, to the south in Virginia, the Jamestown colony which dates from 1607, was mainly settled by a group of adventurers and vagabonds who were even less well equipped to handle the conditions that they also found on Americas shores. Jamestown had been conceived and founded with the total idea of simply exploiting the land and making money for the company that had backed the venture back in England. In New England, the strict adherence to their religious faith and underpinnings gave the pilgrims a somewhat better chance, by shear force of will, to make a go of it in the wilderness and the hostility that the faced.

By 1627, the representation that the modern Plymouth colony comprises to the visiting public today, there was an active colony in place with both saints and sinners living together in some sort of unanimity. There was a social order imposed by the puritan elite and everyone worked around that. The puritans believed in an ethic of hard work and all day religious attendance on the Sabbath and they maintained that ethic through the many years before it began to break down to some degree over a century later, before the American Revolution. People could be exiled from the colony if they did not tow the line and many were throughout the years. This led to the establishment of little sub colonies as those who were banished sought to continue to live and survive. The Indians were initially friendly to the settlers but there would be conflict as time wore on and it became apparent to the natives that the new comers were intent on taking over their lands.

The first thanksgiving occurred about this time in the fall of 1621 after the first harvest was brought in and the idyllic scenes of settlers and natives gathered together over a bountiful table were probably close to the actual truth. Down in Virginia, by that time, they would gather for the Christmas celebration over something that they called “the groaning board� which was supposed to be so loaded with food that it still, in colonial Williamsburg, is sometimes known by that name. That the local Indians took pity on the early settlers in New England is a miracle in itself of sorts and the skills in fishing and in planting that they taught them made all the difference in their survival. The winters in New England were much harsher than they were further south in Virginia and these harvests were the difference in survival and death. Among the more sad things that occured was the fact that the settlers transmitted things such as measles and other illnesses to their native friends and that caused untold grief and tension between the two groups as time went on.

In the Plymouth colony of 1982 that we visited, they would not speak of anything past 1627 so my skills as a trained historian with some knowledge of that time made for an interesting visit for both myself, my then wife, and those who represented the souls who had survived and prospered back in 1627. The mixture between the saints and the sinners made for an interesting combination both in 1982 as we are sure that it did back in the times that they tried so accurately to represent. We would recommend a visit to both the Plymouth colony and to the still emerging Jamestown colony where active architectural work is still being done to this very day.

As a final note, the turkey that so many enjoy on their thanksgiving table was a very bright and wily bird back during the time of the first thanksgiving, and, bringing one in was not always the very easiest of tasks. Yesterday, in the capital, at the White House, President Obama participated in the pardoning of the White House turkey, but millions of less lucky birds will grace the tables of the millions who should feel blessed to be able to enjoy one as there are millions of starving children around this world who will never get to experience anything remotely close to that experience. As we experience hard times for so many in this nation we should lift our glasses and our prayers in thanks for those such as the local Catholic Church youth group here in Marion, Illinois who, each and every year, forgo thanksgiving with their families to come over to the Marion Ministerial Alliance where we volunteer, to serve a turkey dinner to over three hundred people who gather around a communal table to enjoy the bounty that is provided for them on this very special day.

We should never forget that this is still a very blessed nation and on this special day, those who still believe, should humbly thank a gracious God for all that he has done for this nation and for each and every one of us. And, we should never forget that his blessings go with those who do not even follow his song.

IOVHO,

Regards,

Joe

To say that "God exists" is the greatest understatement ever made across space and time.