Thanksgiving customs across the United States in the early years
The article recalls Thanksgiving practices from 1816 onward, noting gas illumination at an American theater in Philadelphia and Lookout Mountain battles in 1863. It highlights regional rites such as Connecticut’s annual Thanksgiving barrel burning where barrels are gathered and burned amid festive dancing.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Philadelphia
Kugler
Lookout’ Mountain
United States
Connecticut
First Thanksgiving 1630 Proclaimed by Winthrop in Mass.
The article recounts the 1630 Puritan observance of a day of prayer and fast led by John Winthrop and Massachusetts Bay leaders amid shortages. A ship arrived, turning the fast into a celebratory banquet, marking the start of Thanksgiving as an annual practice in New England and beyond.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John Winthrop
Massachusetts
America
England
Massachusetts Bay
New England
Winthrop
Charlestown
Gov. Kieft
Nieuw Amsterdam
New York
Manhattan Island
Forbes
Fort Duquesne
Allegheny
Monongahela
Fort Pitt
Pittsburg
New Hampshire
Harvard College
Harvard
South
Virginia
Johns
Mason and Dixon
Gov. Johns
Sheriff Plans Thanksgiving Hangings Shock Town
In a county jail exchange, Sheriff Tom Smith proposes a Halloween style plan for Thanksgiving. He aims to entertain prisoners with a hanging show while Joe refuses to participate citing his rheumatism and lack of relatives. The sheriff pressures Joe while the other man storms off in anger, questioning the plan.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Joe
Tom
Tom Smith
Thanksgiving Sightings and Selfishness Remarks
A fragmenting verse notes a Thanksgiving joke about a table bird versus a coop bird, then a crude racial remark about darkness and prayer, followed by a tautology on self-focus and coldness. The piece blends joke, prejudice, and moral quip in a single column snippet.
The Marabou and Secretary Birds in Nature’s Service
two scavenger and serpent-eating birds, the Marabou and the Secretary Bird, are described for their roles in cleaning garbage and destroying venomous snakes. The Marabou, native to India Africa, feeds on carrion and large bones, while the Secretary Bird, about three feet long, hunts snakes with wing blows and feet, with nests laid in high trees. The article notes their taming by colonists and cultural interactions in India and the Cape Colony, including protection laws and domestication as poultry guards.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
India
Africa
Europe
Senegal
Hindustan
Calcutta
Chandernagore
Asia
Philippine Islands
Cape Colony
Latham
Smeathman
Antilles
J. K. Bloomfield
Palindrome Word List Echoes in Reading
A compilation of palindromic and near palindrome terms forms a curious linguistic set. It groups names and common words like level, civic, rotor, madam, noon, refer, and eye with playful variants and related small words.
Enough as Good as a Feast and a Hotel Clerk Exchange
A guest from Chicago asks about a room with a bath. The clerk notes the guest will be in town only a couple of weeks and recently bathed, implying no bath needed during the stay. The exchange reflects a light, humorous tone from Texas Siftings.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago
Texas
The World Is Mine Oyster Statement Ends in Caution
A young man proclaims the world is his oyster yet the line hints at tempered optimism. The remark suggests a hopeful outlook later tempered by doubt or consequences in the narrative.
Apple Picker and Morse Watch Reflect 19th Century Inventions
The article discusses simple fruit harvesting devices using light poles and canvas bags with tubes for easy fruit gathering, noting bamboo rods as satisfactory. It also mentions the Morse watch aiding silent telegraphy for military, brokers, and police offices, emphasizing secrecy and quiet operation.
Water power and lime in diet urged for health and farms
An article argues for using mountain streams to power pumps and turbines for rural water and irrigation. It notes lime in drinking water benefits teeth and bones, warns soft water may cause health issues, and recommends rutabaga as a weekly staple for growing children.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Strems
Morse watch telegraph instrument hits the market
A new telegraphic device named Morse watch combines a transmitting receiver and sounder inside a standard watch case. It includes a loud or inaudible click setting and a flexible head band to secure the unit, marketed under the secret sounder tradition in telegraph craft.
Rack-saw accident guard offers safer timber work
The rack saws cause more severe injuries than ordinary benches when workers stumble moving logs. An English guard, self sustaining and adjustable by hand, prevents such accidents without hindering work. A side bed clamp, vertical arm, socket, and independently pivoted dished wings with counterweights provide the protective mechanism.
After Dinner Orators Risk Indigestion Says Critic
An observant critic warns after-dinner speakers to limit meals or risk violent indigestion. He notes dyspeptic habits among good speakers due to nervous prep for addresses, as anxiety diverts digestion to the brain. If understood, scholars may avoid horrors of dyspepsia for public distinction.
Spinach lauded as highly medicinal by specialists
Prominent specialists praise spinach for strong medicinal and strengthening properties. They note laxative and liver benefits from potash salts, and claim spinach rivals iron-rich foods and ferruginous remedies in digestible iron. Spinach cited as an active ingredient in new tonics.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Houssingault
Bunge
Facts About Human Anatomy From A Historical Text
A historical fragment notes that muscles exert about 534 pounds of force, blood is nearly seven eighths water and weighs a fifth of body weight, a person is over half an inch taller in the morning due to cartilage relaxation, and the human brain is about one twenty eighth of body weight while a horse brain is less than one four hundredth of its body.
Also Mentioned on This Page
Washington
Gov. Wise— Johns
Wise
Dixie
London
Paris
Berlin
Rome
Sam
William Astor Chanter
Clinton
City
Young Republic
Marabou
Secretary Bird
Figuier
French West Indies
Guadaloupe
Martinique
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