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 Yorktown University Newsletter
November 20, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
What better way to remember the reason for our national Thanksgiving Holiday than to read President George Washington’s message establishing a national day of Thanksgiving?
 Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:
Now,
therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th
day of November next, to be devoted by the people of
these States to the service of that great and glorious
Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that
was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all
unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble
thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of
this country previous to their becoming a nation; for
the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable
interpositions of His providence in the course and
conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of
tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since
enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which
we have been enable to establish constitutions of
government for our safety and happiness, and
particularly the national one now lately instituted' for
the civil and religious liberty with which we are
blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and
diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the
great and various favors which He has been pleased to
confer upon us.
And
also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our
prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of
Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other
transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or
private stations, to perform our several and relative
duties properly and punctually; to render our National
Government a blessing to all the people by constantly
being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional
laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to
protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially
such as have show kindness to us), and to bless them
with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote
the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue,
and the increase of science among them and us; and,
generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of
temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Given
under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of
October, A.D. 1789.
G.
Washington
The First
Thanksgiving
 John
Smith’s 1612 map of Virginia charts the waters that
converge at the York River and Chesapeake Bay and where
the town of Yorktown emerged as an international
port. A year and seventeen days before English
Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, the English colonists
celebrated the first Thanksgiving. That was December 4,
1619, and 38 men from Berkeley Parish in England
vowed:
"Wee
ordaine that the day of our ships arrivall at the place
assigned for plantacon in the land of Virginia shall be
yearly and perpetually keept holy as a day of
Thanksgiving to Almighty God."
Thanksgiving
in America Today
 These
are tough times for many Americans and it is good to
remember that the American turkey is not merely a
delight to eat but a healthy food and relatively
inexpensive. My friend Greg Langmo at Langmo Farms
in Litchfield, Minnesota introduced me to the economics
of turkey growing and I learned from him to buy a turkey
when offered as a “special” at my local supermarket or
the day after Thanksgiving.
Turkey
prices offered at Thanksgiving are sometimes as low 58
cents a pound or less and are near what it costs to grow
a turkey. A twelve pound turkey costing $7.00 is a
great price. Throw in a couple of potatoes, canned corn,
a can of cranberry sauce and you can feed a family of
four for $12.00.
No
matter how you celebrate Thanksgiving in 2009, please
remember to give thanks for the opportunity to live in
the greatest country in the world—the United States of
America!
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