Thanksgiving in
Early America
by Elaine Marie
Cooper
When we
sit down at our Thanksgiving meal this month, we’ll be recreating a celebration
that is as old as our country: sharing food with loved ones while thanking the
God Who has provided the abundance.
While we
understand that the First Thanksgiving was celebrated here by the Mayflower
survivors along with the Indians that had helped them, the first official
proclamation that was decreed to celebrate such a holiday was in 1777. It was a
recommendation to the thirteen states by the Continental Congress to set aside
December 18th that year as a “solemn thanksgiving” to celebrate the
first major victory for the Continental troops in the American Revolution: the
Battle of Saratoga.
The
Battle of Saratoga has significant interest for my own family since one of my
ancestors was a soldier there. But he was not on the American side—he was a
British Redcoat. After surrendering to the Americans, he escaped the line of
prisoners and somehow made his way to Massachusetts and into the life and heart
of my fourth great-grandmother. *SIGH* L’amour!
This
family story was the inspiration for my Deer Run Saga that begins in 1777 with
The Road to Deer Run. There is an elaborate
Thanksgiving meal scene in this novel as well as in the sequel, The
Promise of Deer Run.
Some may
wonder why such detail was afforded this holiday in my novels set in
Massachusetts, while Christmas is barely mentioned. The reason is simple:
Thanksgiving was the major holiday in the northern colonies, with Christmas
considered nothing more special than a workday. According to Jack Larkin in his
book, The Reshaping of Everyday
Life, “The Puritan founders of New England and the Quaker settlers
of Pennsylvania had deliberately abolished (holidays) as
unscriptural.”
But
Thanksgiving was begun as a way to give thanks to God for His provision. It
usually began with attending church services in the morning, followed by an
elaborate feast in the afternoon. The food for this meal was prepared for weeks
in advance.
Since the
individual state governors chose their own date to celebrate the holiday, it was
theoretically possible for some family members—if they lived in close
proximity—to celebrate multiple Thanksgiving meals with family and friends
across state borders. The dates chosen could be anywhere from October to
December, according to Dennis Picard, Director of the Storrowton Village Museum
in West Springfield, Massachusetts.
Chicken
was most commonly served, said Picard, as it was readily available in the
barnyard. And the oldest woman in the home had the honor of slicing the fowl for
dinner.
Pies were
made well in advance of the holiday and stored and became frozen in dresser
drawers in unheated rooms.
“I like
the idea of pulling out a dresser drawer for, say, a clean pair of socks, and
finding mince pies,” said Picard, tongue in cheek.
Indeed!
Have a
BLESSED Thanksgiving!
Author Bio
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Elaine
Marie Cooper grew up in Massachusetts but now lives in the Midwest with her
husband, her three dogs and one huge cat. She has two married sons and triplet
grandchildren who are now one years old. The Promise of Deer Run is
dedicated to the triplets and to veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder.Elaine has been a magazine freelance writer for many years, and is a
regular contributor to a blog on the Midwest called The Barn Door
(www.thebarndoor.net) and a blog on Christian living called Reflections In
Hindsight (ReflectionsInHindsight.wordpress.com). She is the author of The
Road to Deer Run and the sequel, The Promise of Deer Run. Prior to
becoming an author, Elaine worked as a registered nurse.
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Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thanksgiving Day in Early America
Monday, November 21, 2011
Greet Ten People for Peace
|
The 39th Annual
World Hello Day
November 21st, 2011
Greet Ten People for Peace |
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WORLD
HELLO DAY
P.O. BOX 15592 Beverly Hills, California 90209 U.S.A. |
Saturday, November 19, 2011
USA Book AWARD WINNER! A media release that works
From Carolyn Howard-Johnson
M
E D I A R E L E A S
E
I’m proud to have been the winner of
a USA Book Award for my new edition of The Frugal Book Promoter this
year and for my chapbook with Magdalena Ball to have been mentioned as a
finalist. If you have a place to mention
this or to pass to your audience the opportunities that USA Book News affords,
that would be wonderful. If an article would be more appropriate—perhaps one on
the marketing advantages of winning awards—that can be arranged,
too.
M
E D I A R E L E A S
E
For Immediate
Release
Contact: Carolyn Howard-Johnson
E-mail: HoJoNews@aol.com
USA BOOK NEWS ANNOUNCES
WINNERS AND FINALISTS OF THE USA “BEST BOOKS 2011” AWARDS
Simon &
Schuster, St. Martin’s Press, Random House, Penguin, Harper Collins, Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons and hundreds of Independent
Houses contribute to this year’s Outstanding
Competition!
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LOS ANGELES
– USABookNews.com, the premiere online magazine and review website for
mainstream and independent publishing houses, announced two of Carolyn
Howard-Johnson’s books were among those that placed in THE USA “BEST BOOKS 2011”
AWARDS on November 1, 2011. Awards were presented for titles published in 2010
and 2011.
Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of USA Book News, said this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of entries. Winners and finalists traversed the publishing landscape: Simon & Schuster, St. Martin’s Press, Random House, Penguin, Harper Collins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons and hundreds of independent houses contributed to this year’s outstanding competition. Keen adds, “Our success begins with the enthusiastic participation of authors and publishers and continues with our distinguished panel of industry judges who bring to the table their extensive editorial, PR, marketing, and design expertise.”Award highlights include the following: (Full results listing available on USABooknews.com)
One reviewer said reading
Howard-Johnson’s books is like picking the brains of a master marketer. It
received plaudits from industry shakers like Marilyn Ross, founder of Small
Publishers or North America and Tim Bete, director of Dayton University’s Erma
Bombeck Writers’ Conference. The new one carries endorsements from the likes of
Dan Poynter and Tony Eldridge.
Howard-Johnson, an
instructor for nearly a decade at UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program, chose to
have the new edition published in both e-book format and paperback in order to
give her struggling students and clients affordable and convenient choices.
Whichever format a reader chooses, The
Frugal Book Promoter assures an author’s book the best possible start in
life. Full of nitty-gritty how-tos for getting nearly free publicity, the author
shares her professional experience as well as practical tips gleaned from the
successes of her own book campaigns. A former journalist and publicist (she
wrote media releases for fashion designers like Christian Dior), she tells
authors how to do what their publishers can’t or won’t and why authors can often
do their own promotion better than a PR professional. Her poetry is published in
dozens of literary and review journals worldwide.
USABookNews.com is an online publication providing
coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers to the world
online community. JPX Media Group, in Los Angeles, California, is the parent
company of USABookNews.com.
A complete list of the winners and finalists of The USA “Best Books 2011” Awards are available online at http://www.USABookNews.com.
Learn more about Howard-Johnson at http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com and http://carolynhoward-johnson.com..
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Friday, November 18, 2011
Creek Country Saga
A bloody massacre and a merciless reprisal.
Survival comes at a cost.
About the first book in the series, Wounded Spirits:
When a distant war among the Natives spills over into a nearby skirmish,
Adela McGirth’s life takes a perilous turn. Deep in enemy territory she’s
challenged to keep her mother alive, her sister sane, and her new-found love
from growing. A loyal Creek warrior, Totka is forced to align with the
extremist Red Stick faction whose goal is to eradicate the Whites from Creek
soil. In the midst of battle, Totka is assigned to protect those he is expected
to hate–and kill. Life was simpler before his enemy became a beautiful face
with a quiet strength and dignity he cannot resist.
Read my review below. And the Good News following!
CURRENTLY ON SALE E-BOOK FOR $1.99; PRINT $6.58
About April:
April W Gardner resides in Georgia with her USAF husband and two sweet
kiddos. She is the author of the historical romance series, the Creek
Country Saga, as well as the children’s adventure series, the Channel
Islands Resistance. She is the founder and senior editor of the fun
literary website, Clash of the Titles.
In her free time, April enjoys reading, organizing, and DIY. In no particular
order, she dreams of owning a horse, visiting all the national parks, and
speaking Italian.
Review Of Wounded Spirits:
April Gardner's debut novel Wounded Spirits is a heroic story about a little-documented era. In the early 1800s America was suffering. European and expanding white settlers and the native tribal people were at an impasse. Only the superior numbers and weapons of the whites, along with their dread diseases, forced the tribal peoples to give up their land and way of life. April tells the story of a Creek clan versus white settlers in what is now Georgia and Alabama.
Before you pick up this wonderfully-told debut novel, be warned that it is book one of a projected series and you will be left aching for more when you get to the last page.
Adela McGirth and her family farm near a small settlement that is at uneasy peace with a Creek tribe. In fact, Adela's father's first wife was a member of the tribe and he taught his second family to respect everyone. It's a respect that comes with a terrible price when an uprising of Creek warriors, the Red Sticks, battle the American settlers for their right to maintain their way of life and tribal territory. Adela's sister is killed and so, perhaps is her intended, a young soldier. Adela, a surviving sister, and their mother who is expecting a baby, are taken as slaves by one of the Creek, a man who had spent part of his childhood with the McGirths. Adela's father had been away while the skirmish took place and seeks revenge on his former friends when he presumes his family are all killed.
In the several months that Adela and her family live with the clan, strange things happen to sway her sympathies in directions she cannot understand, especially when a young Creek protector, Nokose, makes it clear he wants her as his wife. Adela's faith becomes a matter of survival and a means of coping with her sister's increasing hostility and grief and her mother's difficult and every-obvious mortal pregnancy.
Nothing is easy in Aprils' story. Life and loyalty mingle with death and revenge in blurry lines. I find myself replaying events and motivations, reliving the story long after I finished reading. A Reader's Discussion Guide is included.
SO... The Great News is that WARRING SPIRITS IS soon to be yours too! Watch for the upcoming special release.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Intriguing new Bible Study! The Book of Ruth - A Story of Love and Redemption
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Friday, November 11, 2011
Fighting Fear: Winning the War at Home, a new anthology
Fighting Fear: Winning the War at Home, an interview with April Gardner and
Elaine Marie Cooper, two of the contributors to this anthology.
Saying
good bye to a loved one leaving for war is a gut-wrenching proposition. But for
those left behind, their deployment marks the beginning of our
battle. And yet, it is possible to find God’s peace in the midst of fear and
conquer the terror that lurks in the darkness of doubt. In Fighting Fear:
Winning the War at Home, parents, spouses and siblings recount their
personal journey as God goes before His people during times of spiritual,
physical and military warfare. Learn the secret to living a peace-filled life
when a loved one leaves for battle. Fight fear; win the war at home.
1. Tell us how you got
involved in this project and what you hope will result.
April: It was actually Elaine that alerted me to the project. I knew
instantly that I needed to do my part, in this amazing book. Deployments are a
regular part of my life. I've been there many times, and will be there again.
Besides the Lord, it's been the support of understanding friends that's gotten
me through. That's what this devotional is--friends reaching out to touch the
lives of those who are lonely, fearful, and in need.
Elaine: I got involved in this project when I saw a posting on a
blog that Edie Melson was looking for contributions to a devotional for
families who had a loved one at war—any war. Edie wanted first person accounts
that emphasized various aspects of dealing with the real-life difficulties of
having a loved one on deployment and how, as Christians, our faith was able to
sustain us. Since my own son had been deployed twice, I was able to draw on the
personal angst of a Mom who knows her son is in danger, yet trusting that the
God Who created him would be his shelter in war. What I hoped to impart was my
own real life scenario: already dealing with the loss of my daughter to cancer,
limited support of my family members, and struggling to maintain faith amidst
my own battles on the home front. I hope that by sharing my own moments of both
fear and faith, I can help others walking in my shoes.
2. Can you share a little
summary of your contribution to the book?
April: When I heard about the project, my husband was in the middle
of an eight month deployment in Baghdad. I knew instantly I needed to be a part
of Fighting Fear, but it took months for the Lord to guide me in exactly
what to write. It was over the holidays at a small town post office that God
used an elderly woman and her generosity to sooth my ache. Needing to be a
constant pillar of strength for my kids, I didn't know how scared and lonely I
was until that kind stranger gave me permission to cry. God's strength and
comfort comes in many forms and it's those forms this book addresses.
Elaine: I couldn’t believe the title of my son’s e-mail: “In the Sandbox.”
My breathing quickened as I clicked to open it.
There were the words that made my heart lurch and my soul cry out. My son was
actually in Iraq on the ground.
He’s supposed to be in
the Persian Gulf on his aircraft carrier,
I thought. Tears were pouring down my cheeks. Why is he there, on the
ground?
My son Ben explained in
his note that he had been flown into the country from “the boat” to help
coordinate flying missions. It was an honor and spoke highly of his character
and leadership ability.
But that’s my son, I cried out to God. This isn’t fair.
I
remembered telling my children for years that life was not always fair. Never
had it seemed more unfair than three years prior to Ben’s deployment, when my
only daughter was taken from us, the victim of a brain tumor. Before she had
been diagnosed with this devastating cancer, the horror of 9-11 had occurred,
prompting Ben to join the Navy and defend our nation. So while my husband and I
fought our daughter’s cancer battle at home, Ben was sent to Florida to train
to go to war in the Middle East. In May of 2006 he left for Iraq.
3. What was it like to write
about this experience?
April: It was tough! But good for me. Writing it freshened the
experience and its encouragement. It reminded me of God's sovereignty and love.
Elaine: Writing about my experience was heartbreaking. Even now
reading it, the tears begin to flow. I don't know that the passage of time ever
removes the deep, painful times from a mother's heart. And knowing that in 2012
he could be deployed again only adds to the distress. Yet the God Who watched
over my son in 2006 is still watching over him today—and tomorrow as well.
4. Have you connected with
others and/or learned something in the process of this project?
April: I've been amazed at how eager and desperate people are for
encouragement during deployments. Not only family members but friends, as well,
who want to do something to help. Many have already told me they can't wait for
the release so they can buy the book for someone in need.
Elaine: Other than April and Edie, I have not connected with any
of the other contributors as yet. I want to read the whole compilation of
stories before reaching out to the others on a more personal basis as we share
our struggles as fellow fighters of fear.
5. Anything else? Thanks for the opportunity to share about this much
needed book. The war in the Middle East is now the longest war in American
history. Our troops are weary. Their families are falling apart. Fighting
Fear couldn't have come at a better time.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Day Tour with Elaine Marie Cooper
About The Promise of Deer Run:
America’s war for freedom from England has been over for seven years, but the wounds of that conflict still haunt the minds and hearts of the residents of Deer Run. Young American veteran Nathaniel Stearns has withdrawn to a life of isolation as he awaits his father who never returned from the war.
America’s war for freedom from England has been over for seven years, but the wounds of that conflict still haunt the minds and hearts of the residents of Deer Run. Young American veteran Nathaniel Stearns has withdrawn to a life of isolation as he awaits his father who never returned from the war.
A
near-tragedy in the woods brings Nathaniel face-to-face with nineteen-year-old
Sarah Thomsen, someone he had long admired but he assumed had eyes for another.
This chance encounter opens a crack into the door of his heart as mutual
affection quickly blooms.
But slander and lies soon mar the budding romance, rendering both Sarah and Nathaniel wounded and untrusting as their faith in both their God and each other is shattered. Set in 1790, this book continues the story of the Thomsen and Lowe families as they struggle to survive in the aftermath of the war that birthed the United States.
About the Author:Elaine
Marie Cooper grew up in Massachusetts but now lives in the Midwest with her
husband, her three dogs and one huge cat. She has two married sons and triplet
grandchildren who are now one years old. The Promise of Deer Run
is dedicated to the triplets and to veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder. Elaine has been a magazine freelance writer for many years,
and is a regular contributor to a blog on the Midwest called The Barn Door and a blog on Christian
living called Reflections
In Hindsight. She is the author of The Road to Deer Run and the sequel, The Promise of Deer Run.
Prior to becoming an author, Elaine worked as a registered nurse.
An Absolutely Charming Tale!
Once again, Elaine Marie Cooper pens an absolutely charming tale of eighteenth century Americana. War, no matter the era, takes its toll on both soldiers and families. The Promise of Deer Run is a precious next story following Mary and Daniel’s story in The Road to Deer Run, picking up with Mary’s sister, Sarah a few years down the line. Be sure to read the first book too! As a historian and author, I am grateful to Elaine for her dedication to authenticity.
—Lisa Lickel, author of A Summer in Oakville
Leave a comment with your e-mail here by November 18 to be entered into a drawing for the following: Winner announced November 21, 2011.
Grand Prize (Retail Value: $297.38) Contains:• Basket • $25 Starbucks gift card • Spode Christmas teapot • Spode Christmas mugs • Yankee candle • Hardbound copy The Road to Deer Run • Hardbound copy The Promise of Deer Run • Bath and Body Paris Amour scent
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