Our own Club President, JOEL RASMUS, gave an interesting program about “The True Story of Thanksgiving.” His information was based on an article by that name written by Charles C. Mann in the Smithsonian magazine.

The original plan for the Dutch and English pilgrims to come to North America involved two sailing ships, the Speedwell and the Mayflower. Unfortunately, after setting out two separate times, the Speedwell proved to be unseaworthy, which required the entire party to travel on the Mayflower. The dimensions of the ship were 100 ft long and 20 ft wide, hardly enough room for the 102 passengers and 30 crew members. During the 66 day trip, two passengers died and one baby was born. They arrived at Cape Cod in November, 1620, but for a variety of reasons, stayed on the ship until spring. By then, sickness had diminished their numbers to 53. A Native American who had spent a few years in England, Squanto, found himself in Cape Cod at the time the Pilgrims landed. His familiarity with the English language put him in the position of interpreter. This led to a relationship with the settlers in which Squanto was able to show them ways of surviving in this environment. His help was essential to the ill-prepared Europeans and allowed them to begin a flourishing colony. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/native-intelligence

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:
From Henry Ward Beecher: “ Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow.  A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves..”