Howard Coop, 32°
111 Dogwood Drive
Lancaster, Kentucky 40444–1034

The basic principles upon which our nation was founded are among the more important blessings to be thankful for
during this special time of year.

The fourth Thursday in November, we will celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday tradition that, in 1999, is 378 years old. This cherished tradition began in 1621 when, at the end of the first harvest in the New World, Governor William Bradford issued a proclamation calling for the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony to observe a day of public thanksgiving.

The celebration of this holiday is one of the more significant traditions of our nation. Throughout this land, so singularly blessed as a haven for freedom-loving people everywhere, we will observe the day by sharing a bountiful meal with our families and friends.

In our celebration, we must not forget that this national observance is a cherished tradition that grew out of an intense struggle for survival. When, after a stormy voyage that lasted nine weeks, the Pilgrims reached the New World, they faced an unusually hard winter. The weather, not unusual by New England standards but vastly different from what they had known in the Old World, took its toll. Many died of pneumonia, and history records that "at times not more than six or seven were in proper condition to attend the sick and bury the dead." Supply ships did not arrive from England as scheduled, and food was scarce. By the time spring arrived, nearly half of the Pilgrims had died, and their bodies had been buried on Cole's Hill overlooking Plymouth Bay. Only four of the 18 married women remained alive, and of the 54 survivors, 12 were under the age of 16.
After the first harvest was in and the thanksgiving proclamation issued, Governor Bradford, according to a letter written by Edward Winslow, a 25-year-old Pilgrim who was the ambassador for the colony to the Indians, "sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together." It is also known that the Indian Chief Massassoit came with 90 men. For three days, the Pilgrims and the Indians "entertained and feasted."

The Pilgrim celebration was more than a feast consisting of turkey, venison, cornbread, squash, pumpkin, and other vegetables produced in their gardens. Lovers of liberty, the Pilgrims were willing to forsake the familiar surroundings of their home country to seek a land of new beginnings where they could start new lives free from religious persecution and political tyranny. Struggling to overcome adversity, those sturdy Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony, along with stalwart pioneers who established other settlements along the Atlantic seaboard, left an enduring legacy. They sowed the political seeds that ripened into a bountiful harvest, a nation whose citizens enjoy the blessings of liberty, the privilege of free speech, and the right to worship according to the dictates of conscience. Strengthened by these ideas, America prospered and took its place among the great nations of the world.

As we celebrate the festival of Thanksgiving begun by the Pilgrims and passed down from generation to generation, the basic principles upon which our nation was founded are among the more important blessings to be thankful for. Let us cherish them and never forget them.

Howard Coop is a retired United Methodist Minister and has been a Mason since 1952. He is a Past Master of Lancaster Lodge No. 104, currently serving as Chaplain, a member of W. R. Selby, Sr., Chapter No. 4, Danville, Kentucky, and the Scottish Rite Bodies of Louisville, Kentucky.