As we approach this time of year the memories of summer heat, vibrant fall foliage and harvest celebrations have concluded. The weather cools as talk of approaching snow engages many in conversations over mulled hot cider. It is the festive season that now beckons one and all, starting with our Thanksgiving celebration we speak of Christmas and the new year. Traditions are alive and well and bridge one generation to the next with new traditions married to those from bygone years.
On this cool November day, I visit my family attic and search boxes for diaries from the past, long before technology robbed our generation of the need to write and record the history of our families in beautiful flowing script. My old diaries date back a century and more and hold memories that I cherish, discovering new adventures filled with mischief, gossip, days long ago with joyous muse. The pages are now yellowed with age but the ink holds fast to the old paper and the words read like a book containing the most precious history, for it is in fact the history of me.
It is my objective today to find the family diary written by my grandmother during the year 1921, in particular November 1921. I search in an attempt to quench my desire to know about my family’s Thanksgiving in Concord 100 years ago. It was 100 years ago my family gathered to celebrate everything they were thankful for, the simple pleasures, health and the ability to come together under one roof.
I locate the old diary and read, I read with interest about the Concord of a century ago, the sadness and joy that flowed within our community and the simple expectations that were so deeply desired. The diary reads like a novel, my grandmother so very thankful that her sons returned from Europe after World War One had concluded three years prior to Thanksgiving in 1921. She appreciated the work and meager earnings she did have, enough for food, shelter, warm clothing and the meal that would be consumed on Thanksgiving Day. She wrote about the countless hours she worked to plan for this one special event and about the letters sent to her grown children with expectations of their soon-to-be visit at the end of November. Her diary tells about a table decorated with her finest dishes and utensils placed delicately upon the linen table cloth, some of the dishes included on this special day 100 years ago traveled with her from Ireland in her steamer trunk decades before. Her recipes are traditional and American with old country appetizers such as Irish Soda Bread that she perfected as a young lady back in Galway, on the other side of the ocean and so very far away from this very American celebration.
The roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, potatoes, squash, pumpkin, pickles and olives followed by some of the finest pies ever baked in Concord. Mincemeat, apple, pumpkin and blueberry pies topped with homemade vanilla ice cream follow the meal as the gentlemen retire to the porch for brandy and cigars. The food and many of the beverages are not purchased in a store, they are made from scratch by grandmother in her kitchen. I read about family members from long ago, people that will not be joining my grandmother for Thanksgiving in 1921, some have sadly passed away while others have simply moved away in search of their very own American dream.
As I continue to read each page, I have a new appreciation for the past, those days lived by others many years before I lived, I feel a deep nostalgia even though this story did not include me. I realize the memories tell a story about the importance of Thanksgiving and can now appreciate the meaning in a clear manner. One hundred years ago the meal was certainly revered and planned, delectable and very remembered. The memory was very important to my grandmother, so very important that she recorded in detail this Thanksgiving Day in 1921 in her beautiful flowing script.
As I continue my visit to the attic and read with fascination the hours pass and the shadows grow long. I think about my family and realize I have become just like my grandmother in many ways. Thanksgiving is so very important and a fine day will be enjoyed, but there are so many more things that I understand today with only the passage of years. There are now empty seats at the table where loved ones will never again dine with me, I sometimes worry about my children and grandchildren and want so much more for them. My personal priorities and objectives now rest with my grown children and grandchildren. This Thanksgiving Day, the most important dish that will be served is togetherness, a time when we gather as a family. We will laugh, cry and talk about the years that have gone past. We will recall people from the past and discuss the future with optimism.
The world is changing and we now live with concerns that were never imagined by our forefathers. Life has grown so complex. As I place my grandmothers’ diaries back into the cardboard box in my attic, I think about how much that has changed since Thanksgiving in 1921. People are basically the same as they gather this year to celebrate Thanksgiving, we have many concerns but we also have cause to be thankful. As you celebrate Thanksgiving these years remember the past while embracing the future. A fine meal with a side dish of happiness is a wonderful way to celebrate togetherness. A safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving to all.