Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day which means that the month of November is coming to a close and Christmas is approaching.
I recall, though, when as a youngster, Christmas wasn’t given much attention until after Thanksgiving Day, quite different from today when Christmas begins in October or earlier with catalogs, TV programs, music and ads all related to the December holiday.
During the Novembers in my childhood I remember that on Nov. 11, then named Armistice Day, my classmates and I stood beside our desks at 11 a.m. and paused for one minute. That was to observe the signing of the Armistice which took place at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918 and ended World War I.
I wonder how many readers recall doing that. Today, that is Veterans Day.
We had Thanksgiving programs in school the day before the holiday when we were dismissed. For instance, November, 1945, there was a program presented by the Cardington students before dismissal for the holiday.
Among those participating were John Dunham, Janet Cobourn, Ruth Alma Mosher, Joan Hall, Maxine Boger, Janice Hall, Annabelle Oler, Alice Crum and Mary Ellen Miller. This program was described in the school newspaper, “The Searchlight.”
Lura Robinson and Pat Barton, co-editors of the paper in 1949 published a meaningful Thanksgiving editorial in the November edition, summing up, “We have kept the greatest custom of the Pilgrims in Thanksgiving. We must realize there is much more to Thanksgiving than just looking forward to a big Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings.”
Nancy Mahaffey, editor of the same school paper in 1966, noted: “We are pretty lucky people and its’s about time we started to realize it. We live in a beautiful, free country, have homes, food, and many other things to be thankful for.”
Both of these messages remain timely today. Wishing each of you a Happy Thanksgiving, a delicious dinner and enjoy the kick off to Christmas by viewing the annual televised Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
80 years ago, November, 1939: Dr. W. J. Smith opened his dental office in his home, one half mile west of Cardington on U S. Route 42; Bob Smiley advertised turkey center brick ice cream at 29 cents a quart and Mr. and Mrs. David Curren residents of near Schaaf’s Corners, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary
50 years ago, November, 1969: Jenkins-Vaughan Post 97 of the American Legion celebrated its 50th anniversary on Nov. 11.
