Pilgrims

Dear Editor, November 11 is a day to remember for two significant reasons. It is Veterans' Day, a national holiday set aside to honor veterans and remember the heroic service they rendered to protect and secure the freedoms we enjoy. It is also the anniversary of the signing of the Mayflower Compact, an agreement that had profound influence upon all other governments in the new world. On Nov. 11, 1620, with 102 Pilgrims fleeing religious persecution in the old world and seeking to establish a colony in the new world, the Mayflower sailed into Provincetown Harbor.

Native Americans perform a dance around the pilgrims before they enjoy their Thanksgiving meal in Rachel Reed's first grade class at St. Agatha Academy, top photo. Indians dancing are, clockwise from left, Marissa Gilchrist, Jiali Graham, James Phelps Hayden Cecil, Henry Turner, Kylie Wiggins and Lucas Williams. Dressed as pilgrims are Madison Marsillett, facing camera, Sofie Blair, Halle VanCleve, Courtlin Crabtree and Jack Molloy.

Maybe Myles Standish wasn't such a stand-up guy after all. Perhaps the Puritans weren't so pure ? at least by Southern Baptist standards. And maybe, instead of being a gesture of political correctness, inviting the Indians to dinner was just politics as usual. That's what Godfrey Hodgson would have you believe about the American legend of the Pilgrims and their Thanksgiving. But keep in mind, he's a bloody Brit. First-grade history The story of the First Thanksgiving is one American schoolchildren know by heart.

With a charter from the Virginia Company of London allowing them to settle near the mouth of the Hudson River, the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. That was a great distance north of their intended destination and well out of the bounds of the Virginia Company. After a treacherous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean at the stormy season of the year, they found a hostile climate that exacted a heavy toll, and many died of pneumonia. During their first winter in the New World, 47 members of the original party of 102 died, and records reveal that, at any one time, only "six or seven were in proper condition to attend the sick and bury the dead.

Jesus Campos, top photo, had a costume malfunction with his Pilgrim hat during a Thanksgiving program by kindergarten students attending Fannie Bush Elementary School Tuesday afternoon. Shelby Moore, second photo, portrayed a Native American during the performance of Thanksgiving songs. Austin Shelton, third photo, shared popcorn from his Thanksgiving feast with his sister, Makayla Lopez, 2, who visited her brother during the program. Singing a song complete with visual effects were, bottom photo from left, Kaleb Fuller, Nathanael Bellamy and Kayleigh Sandefur.

"Twas founded be th' Puritans to give thanks f'r bein' preserved fr'm th' Indyans, an' ... we keep it to give thanks we are preserved fr'm th' Puritans. " - Finley Peter Dunne WASHINGTON - But the Pilgrims who bequeathed to us Thanksgiving were not Puritans, at least as we use that term to denote busybodies bent on extirpating dissipation, meaning fun. Excessive merriment was not a pressing problem for the half of the Mayflower's 102 passengers who survived the first few months in wintry Massachusetts.

Dear Editor, One thing is certain: Life isn't always what we want it to be. Everything may seem to go well for a while, but in due time, problems pop up, and the going gets rough. One morning I was thinking about some personal problems that had popped up, and I realized that Thanksgiving was not too far ahead. My first thought was: Under the circumstances, what is there for which I can be thankful? My thought turned to Plymouth and the sturdy Pilgrims who settled there 389 years ago. To escape persecution for their faith, they crossed the Atlantic in a small ship known as the Mayflower during the stormiest season of the year.

Dear Editor: Parents, please tell your children what may not even be taught at school anymore. The true story of the first Thanksgiving begins in 1608, when a group of Christians called Separatists, persecuted for forming a church apart from the Church of England, left their homeland to settle in Leyden, Holland. There, they found religious freedom but also poverty, grueling work and a secular culture that threatened to undo the values they had carefully instilled in their children.

It’s the time of year when a lot of us convert our homes into winter wonderlands for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. In my home, visitors definitely see it as a wonderland — they wonder how my spouse can put with all the junk I put on every flat surface, hang from every doorway and stick in every corner. I may be a frustrated decorator, but it is my wife who ends up in utter frustration. After I’m done with my decorating for Thanksgiving, I see a warm and cozy village filled with pilgrims, Indians and turkeys.

When the Pilgrims and Native Americans set down to eat in 1621, religious practice did not necessarily top the agenda. "The Pilgrims, with a puritanical rejection of public religious display, held a non-religious Thanksgiving feast, aside from saying grace," according to the Smithsonian Institute. "In fact, they seem to have used the three days for feasting, playing games and even drinking liquor. " But as colonists held similar celebrations in ensuing years, Christianity began to play a larger role.

Native Americans perform a dance around the pilgrims before they enjoy their Thanksgiving meal in Rachel Reed's first grade class at St. Agatha Academy, top photo. Indians dancing are, clockwise from left, Marissa Gilchrist, Jiali Graham, James Phelps Hayden Cecil, Henry Turner, Kylie Wiggins and Lucas Williams. Dressed as pilgrims are Madison Marsillett, facing camera, Sofie Blair, Halle VanCleve, Courtlin Crabtree and Jack Molloy.

Fannie Bush Elementary School kindergarten student Damaris Lopez wears the Native American outfit she created to wear while eating her Thanksgiving meal with her mother, Araceli Lopez.

It’s the time of year when a lot of us convert our homes into winter wonderlands for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. In my home, visitors definitely see it as a wonderland — they wonder how my spouse can put with all the junk I put on every flat surface, hang from every doorway and stick in every corner. I may be a frustrated decorator, but it is my wife who ends up in utter frustration. After I’m done with my decorating for Thanksgiving, I see a warm and cozy village filled with pilgrims, Indians and turkeys.

When the Pilgrims and Native Americans set down to eat in 1621, religious practice did not necessarily top the agenda. "The Pilgrims, with a puritanical rejection of public religious display, held a non-religious Thanksgiving feast, aside from saying grace," according to the Smithsonian Institute. "In fact, they seem to have used the three days for feasting, playing games and even drinking liquor. " But as colonists held similar celebrations in ensuing years, Christianity began to play a larger role.

Maybe Myles Standish wasn't such a stand-up guy after all. Perhaps the Puritans weren't so pure ? at least by Southern Baptist standards. And maybe, instead of being a gesture of political correctness, inviting the Indians to dinner was just politics as usual. That's what Godfrey Hodgson would have you believe about the American legend of the Pilgrims and their Thanksgiving. But keep in mind, he's a bloody Brit. First-grade history The story of the First Thanksgiving is one American schoolchildren know by heart.

Dear Editor, One thing is certain: Life isn't always what we want it to be. Everything may seem to go well for a while, but in due time, problems pop up, and the going gets rough. One morning I was thinking about some personal problems that had popped up, and I realized that Thanksgiving was not too far ahead. My first thought was: Under the circumstances, what is there for which I can be thankful? My thought turned to Plymouth and the sturdy Pilgrims who settled there 389 years ago. To escape persecution for their faith, they crossed the Atlantic in a small ship known as the Mayflower during the stormiest season of the year.

He understands college basketball is big business and that scholarships are renewed on annual basis. Still, it's understandably hard for James Pilgrim to accept that his son, Matt, did not have his scholarship at Kentucky renewed and won't be on coach John Calipari's first UK team. "They didn't renew his scholarship," James Pilgrim said Thursday. "I don't know if there was a particular reason or not. "We've got to understand this is a business. It's not about the kids.

LEXINGTON -- Dealing with a coaching change is not the first time Matt Pilgrim has faced a situation he had no control over at Kentucky. The first came late last season when the Wildcats were reeling and Pilgrim, a power forward, could do nothing but sit and watch because he was a transfer from Hampton. "It was tough watching the team struggle because I couldn't do anything but watch and try to help in practice. I couldn't do anything else, and that was not easy on me. I knew if I could be out there, I could have helped," said Pilgrim.

LEXINGTON - While it might have helped Kentucky if Matt Pilgrim had been granted a hardship waiver so he could play this year, being redshirted could pay even bigger long-term dividends for the player. "His work ethic has gotten better. He is a tremendous athlete, but the practice time has helped him and I think the year off is really going to help him," Kentucky assistant coach Glynn Cyprien said. "He has gotten better. He is really understanding what Coach (Billy Gillispie) wants and the way we want to play.

Jesus Campos, top photo, had a costume malfunction with his Pilgrim hat during a Thanksgiving program by kindergarten students attending Fannie Bush Elementary School Tuesday afternoon. Shelby Moore, second photo, portrayed a Native American during the performance of Thanksgiving songs. Austin Shelton, third photo, shared popcorn from his Thanksgiving feast with his sister, Makayla Lopez, 2, who visited her brother during the program. Singing a song complete with visual effects were, bottom photo from left, Kaleb Fuller, Nathanael Bellamy and Kayleigh Sandefur.