Five Kernels
by Harold Gingerich
For most Americans, Thanksgiving
Day conjures up a Norman Rockwell
image. Remembering the sights and
smells of Grandma’s house almost
makes one’s mouth water. Her bountiful table laden with cranberry salad,
glazed ham, turkey, sweet potatoes,
and warm mincemeat and pumpkin
pies were a sight to behold. For her, the
best part is simply being together with
the family around the table. Following
the feasting, with the children playing,
and the men watching football, the
adults are agonizing over all they have
eaten.
Soon school children will color
pictures of Pilgrims dressed in drab
browns and blacks. In truth it was
the Puritans a generation later who
dressed in those lifeless colors. The
Pilgrims were Elizabethan Englishmen who enjoyed the latest fashions.
Peter Marshal and David Manuel, in
their book “The Light and the Glory”, describe the red-headed Pilgrim
leader Miles Standish wearing a plum
red cape and William Brewster in an
emerald green satin doublet (a finely
tailored French jacket). So much for
our stereotype!
It was December 21st, 1620, that
the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
Some 102 of them left England, but
only 99 survived the voyage. Almost
half of those who survived died during
their first winter in America.
Almost forgotten is Squanto the
Indian who had been captured, made a
18
slave and taken to Europe. How he escaped captivity and returned to America is uncertain. Clearly he had every
reason to hate the white man. Yet, it
was Squanto who taught the Pilgrims
how to stalk deer, refine maple syrup,
and plant corn. The Pilgrims planted
about 20 acres of corn that spring.
With a bountiful harvest, provisions were laid in store for the winter.
Governor Bradford declared that a day
of thanksgiving be held in October of
1621. Chief Massasoit arrived a day
early with 90 of his braves. Fortunately, he also brought five deer and a
dozen fat turkeys. The Indians enjoyed
themselves so much that they stayed
three days! Between meals they had
shooting matches, foot races, and to
the great delight of the Indians, wrestling matches. They also taught the
Pilgrims to “pop” corn in an earthen jar
placed in the fire.
The festive mood was short-lived.
Within a month 35 new colonists arrived with no food, no extra clothing,
and no tools — NOTHING! And so
the second winter loomed bleaker than
the first. Daily rations were reduced to
a mere five kernels of corn. In desperation they called out to God. Miraculously a ship put into their harbor
with provisions. In spite of exorbitant
prices, they were able to trade for
supplies. By God’s grace they survived
the winter.
The following summer almost no
rain fell. A day of “Prayer and Fasting”
The Hometown Treasure · November ‘13
was called. Without rain the crops
would be lost and they would be facing
starvation the coming winter. One of
the colonists, Edward Winslow, recorded that the morning they gathered to
pray the skies were clear. They prayed
for eight or nine hours. By the time
they left for their homes it had become
overcast. Winslow recorded, “On the
next morning distilled soft, sweet and
moderate showers of rain, continuing
some fourteen days…, it was hard
to say whether our withered corn or
drooping affections were most quickened or revived, such was the bounty
and goodness of our God!”
The harvest was so bountiful that
they had a surplus to trade for winter supplies. And so, a second day of
Thanksgiving was planned. Chief Massasoit came again, this time with his
favorite wife, 120 braves, 12 deer plus
turkeys. The first course of this year’s
feast began with five kernels of corn on
each plate, “lest anyone should forget”.
While the first celebration had
been genuine, the second Thanksgiving
carried a much greater significance.
Yes, their hard work had paid dividends and the future looked hopeful;
but, the events of the second winter
and the following summer’s drought
had brought a profound realization
that their survival depended on God’s
provision. Thanksgiving had become
an attitude of the heart - born out of
adversity.