Thanksgiving has always been celebrated as an occasion for giving thanks. The tradition of gathering family and friends has not changed greatly for the last 150 years. Interestingly, the traditional feast has varied slightly over the decades - not surprising in earlier years when locally convenient food meant taking a musket for a walk.

Local mills would grind corn for farmers in return for a share of the crop. The corn flour was used for making bread, which was baked in hot ashes.

Quantities of fruits and vegetables were dried and stored for the winter. Apples would sometimes be pared in rings and strung on thread to dry. These would be used to garnish meats or to mix with spices and when available, for sweet desserts. Even corn was dried and used later in the season.

Originally, the turkey, if used for the feast at all, was wild. But a goose or chicken, was a good substitute. Stuffed with nuts and fruit and the spare parts of the fowl, this was looked forward to as a great treat when cooked over the fire.

Butter was hand-churned, and lard was used as an alternate to our modern day oils. Fresh cream might have accompanied the pies for dessert.

The celebration of Thanksgiving was then, as now, based just as much upon the spirit of Thanksgiving as the feast itself In a testimony of early American life, a woman described her best

Thanksgiving ever. "A family of settlers had their nice wild turkey dinner taken by the Indians, who came in silently and just shoved the folks back and eat it up. They did not harm the people and after they were gone the women made a big corn bread and with what few things the Indians left, they had a feast, the best as the daughter tells, that she ever eat. This was because they were so happy and thankful that the Indians spared them."

Different times, different reasons for thanksgiving. As we gather our family and friends together for our thanksgiving feast, may we all be thankful for our blessings great and small.