Medford mail tribune., November 20, 1955, Image 17

Typical of the scene which will be' found in millions of homes Thanksgiving day is this picture of Mr. and
Mrs. Joseph F. Clark and two of their children taken at the family home, 827 Park street. Mrs. Clark prepared the
table with the symbolic cornucopia filled to overflowing with fruits and vegetables, and Mr. Clark prepares to
carve the turkey. The Clarks' children are Tommy, 6, a first grade pupil at St. Mary's school; Carolyn, 4, old enough
now to take part in the fa.mily feast, and baby Kathryn Ann, only three months old and too young to be in picture.
When the Plymouth colonists attended church on the first Thanksgiving day, they wore the severe black,
white and grey clothing shown here on four Puritan dolls. The dolls representing mother, father and two children
were made by Mrs. Henry A. (Ann) Davis of 429 South Grape street, known by doll collectors in Medford and
many other cities for her artistic reproductions. The dolls' clothing is complete even to tiny shoes with buckles, long
ribbed hose and head coverings father carries his long gun and Bible.
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An annual pre-Thanksgiving event in Medford is the harvest dinner of Zion Lutheran church, prepared and
served by women of the congregation. This year's dinner, held November-11 at the church, drew the usual large
number of church members and guests and pictured above during the serving are (left to right) Mrs. I. M. Eitreim,
president of the Women's guild of the church; Mrs. Martin Westvong and Mrs. James Wicker. The harvest dinner
has been held each fall for nearly 50 years by Zion Lutheran church.
M
EDFORD
Tribune
MEDFORD, OREGON, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1955
By Olive Starcher
Thanksgiving, celebrated by people of the United States since the earliest days of the Plymouth
colonists, will be observed in Medford November 24. in the traditional fashion. Many will give thanks at
church and a union Thanksgiving service is planned for 10 a.m. at First Baptist church, sponsored by Medford
Ministerial association. .., ... - -
Families will then gather around the festive board for turkey, cranberry and pumpkin pie dinners, and
then spend the remainder of the day by the fireside with relatives and friends.
History records that the first American Thanksgiving day was celebrated during the second winter the
Plymouth colonists spent in the New World. The first terrible winter in Massachusetts had killed nearly half
of the colony, but the following summer was a good one for crops and the corn harvest brought rejoicing.
Governor William Bradford set aside December 13, .1621, as a day of feasting and prayer to show
the gratitude of the colonists. It is written that the women spent days beforehand in preparation, boiling,
baking and roasting food for the first Thanksgiving day.
Because Governor Bradford spoke of himself and his followers as "pilgrims and strangers upon the
jartlr," the name Pilgrims was given to the founders of the Plymouth colony. The Pilgrims considered
themselves extremely religious, and in England were known as Separatists because they wished to sepa
rate from the official Church of England. . ,
The settlers were often called Puritans, but actually the two terms are not synonymous. The word
Puritan was applied originally to any person who was numbered among a great body of Protestants in
England. Some of the Puritans, also known as Separatists, were among the Plymouth colonists. .
The symbolic Thanksgiving scene (upper right) is of four hand-made dolls wearing Puritan dress.
(Brainerd photos)
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Guests began arriving early for the harvest dinner, and pictured above are a number who were seated soon
after the doors opened. Since many persons of Scandinavian descent are in the Zion church congregation, the
dinner menu featured such typical Scandinavian delicacies as sylta, a jellied veal loaf served in slices; lefse, a
flat bread made of potatoes, flour and cream and rolled very thin, and the traditional cookies such as krumkoker,
fatigman and crown cookies. Baked salmon, ham, turkey and meat balls were some of the other dishes served.
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Among the guests at one Thanksgiving dinner in the valley will be Jean Lelut (above), 19-year-old French
.youth who is spending a year in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Taylor on Old Stage road. Jean's stay here
was arranged, by government authorities in order that the young man might work with a Jackson county orchardist
and learn something of local methods of fruit production. His family owns and operates pear orchards near Paris,
growing Cornice, William and Passe Crassanne and othor varieties which are packed at the orchard.
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