Republican Club

by Brian Harmon

LW contributor

As Americans celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving, the Republican Club’s leaders and members want to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving.

Whether one’s family celebrates by feasting on a traditional turkey meal or favors In-N-Out, the meaning and history of Thanksgiving permeate the holiday.

The Pilgrims were Christians in England who wanted to separate from the Church of England. They believed that being right with God was not a matter of conforming to the rules and participating in the rituals of a particular church. They gathered together in homes or churches to learn what the Bible says, to worship God together, to pray, and to be in fellowship with one another.

Due to persecution from the ruling Anglican Church, the Pilgrims moved to Holland in 1607-08. Eventually settling in the city of Leiden, they had the religious freedom they sought but were not comfortable adjusting to the different cultural environment.

In 1620, they traveled back to England on a ship called the Speedwell, planning to join others of their faith who were sailing out on the Mayflower. When the Speedwell was found to be taking on water, they decided to all go together on the Mayflower, according to historical accounts.

Although they were headed for what is now New York Harbor, ferocious storms blew them off course, and they ended up 66 days later in Cape Cod, during an especially cold winter. Most of them spent that first winter on the ship. Roughly half died of exposure, scurvy and other diseases.

After that first devastating winter, they were surprised to meet an English-speaking Native American called Squanto. He had been kidnapped many years earlier and taken to Spain where he studied with monks. He returned to America with an exploratory expedition to Cape Cod, where his tribe had lived and found that they had all died of disease. That is where he met the Pilgrims, taught them the survival skills that they needed and introduced them to the local Native American tribes.

The first Thanksgiving, in 1621, probably did not feature mainly turkey, but rather fish. However, the purpose of the celebration was for the Pilgrims to thank God for allowing them to survive that first horrible winter and for a bountiful harvest. ••• The Republican Club booth will be up in the parking lot outside Building 6 each Monday, featuring School Choice Initiative petitions to be signed.

There will be no Republican Club meetings in December.