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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1903)
2 TIIE ILLUSTRATED BEE. November 22, 1003. 1 The Illustrated Be& published Weekly by The Bee Publishing Coin; any. Bee Building. Omaha, Neb. Trlc, 6 Per Copy Per Tear. $2.00. Entered at th Omaha Po:offlce oi Second Class Hall Matter. For Advertising Rated Addr Publisher. Communication relating to poTographs of article for publication mould be ad- ilrrMrd, "Editor The Illustrated Bee. Omaha." . Pen and Picture Pointers ViKMAIj 'people have ccjwJ to dis F pute over Ihe origin of Ihe run to of retting apart uuc day In eucli year to return lliatiks. espe cially for the mercies "nd sood- nec showered upon the world and its Inhabitants by Dtvine !rovldrnci. The prcipiVly of the aet it admitted, and for that reason little If any flgnlflcance at taches to Its Rene!. By both precedent and practice the people are Justified in turning aside from their dally voeatlona for the one day to make thankful acknowl edgement of their obligation for continued Ufa and prosperity. In addition to other method for expressing gratitude, It la a custom blessed and hallowed by tradition to add feasting to thanksgiving, and to manifest by personal conduct, aa well aa by prayer and hymn, that appreciation of the good thing of life that marks the truly grateful. Ot Iters mill add fasting to prayer, but to thanksgiving must be coupled feasting. 8urti outdoor sports and relaxation aa may be permitted by the weather are Indulged In, Just as they are on other holidays, but after church in the morning, the turkey in the afternoon or evening; is really the feature of Thanks giving day, and will likely remain so for many years to come. But modern Iconoclasm haBti't been able to entirely uproot the legend of good old Governor Winthrop's day of fuming and prayer that was adventltlouxly turned into a day of feasting and thanksgiving by the. appearance of the supply ship In the har-' bor. Whatever ot fiction there may be In the yarn Is morn than offset by the comforting thought that the Puritan fathers had at least one good time In their lives, which were otherwise bound up In rather gloomy round of labor and devo tion. From them at any rate we get the turkey and the pumpkin pie, that are tradi tional; mince pie was eschewed because it was a popish abnomlnatlon, but the de scendants of those stern old dtasenters have none of that extreme nicety of punc tllllo that distinguished their forbears In the matter of eating and other worldly v enjoyments, and will garnlrh their Thanks giving day table with a lot of edibles of such origin as would liave been moat sternly condemned in Governor Winthrop's day. Borne of the other modern features. such na foot ball and the like, would have been received with much disapproval around Plymouth Rock, where much at tention is devoted to such pports nowadays. These divergencies are only in line with others from the customs of that time, and are merely such as mark the progress of the race In civilisation, und all that the word means. e Nebraakans and their Immediate neigh bors have more than usuul to tie thankful tor this season, for In spite of floods and other disasters, their fields have yielded bountiful returns, their flocks have thrived, and their business ventures have prospered. Next Thursday will be a genuine day of thanksgiving among readers of The Be. Some change has taken place in the con duct of the bushier affair of tho church ince the day when Jems Chi tit despatched the Seventy duclna to preach and work miracles, saying: "Oo your ways; behold, I send you forth aa lambs among wolves. Carry neither puree nor scrip, nor shoes, and ralute no man by the way." If a preacher were to Mart out that way now adays hewouMut g?t very far, ard the litllo way he did tiavrl would be hard for him. No fact connectej with tho affairs of llfo is better recognized by the church of today Uiun the ncce.ulty of buaiue-a management and methods in the conduct of Its affairs, and particularly In connec tion with tho work of proselyting and In troducing the religion .of Jesus Christ Into those parts of the world where it is not now accepted. The Methodist EfUcopal Is one of the most upgrvjth o of the evangeli cal churches, and ha need therefore of ability at the head of Its affairs. Omaha people were very recently given an oppor tunity to judge personally of tho ability of the men who murage uni brar.ch of tin bulnes of this great Institution when the general committee In charge of the mis sies rcrk the vK"t -nr h here fur fle daya of deliberation and eoa- ultutloti over plana and needs. Almost a million md a halt of dol!ist was appor tioned among the different tie da ot mis sionary effort under the direction of this church. Fifteen Muhop r.nd many other dignitaries of the iliurti 'were' (vi attend ance on the teiaion, which of an importance to the church at lurg is aJmost eiuai to the general conference, which la hel-J every four years. Thanksgiving Day Fifty E. E. Powell In the New York Independent. 1 AT ITER," said the little mother, M I "la the cider not getting low In "Truly," snld our father, "but we must see." "For Thanksgiving comes next week and the pies must be made at once." Then she pressed her lips tightly together and drew her finger over them, n If she would aay. Am I not a famous cook and a true homckeeper? .Indeed! little mother, but yon ore. Then -the great cut rose from a. corner of the fireplace, and, walking to the little mother, rubbed agalnt her anil purred; and why should she have done this, except that she smelled the meat In that pie? You know that a true pie Is al ways In the brain before It Is in the dish. To be mire, ad Jist then a whole dinner was in the brain of that little mother. It was the critical hour. ' The fire flashed and flamed and danced and almost cried up the chimney: "Yes, indeed, but we will cook It." And then our father leaned back his head and shut his eyes, and a am lie crept out over his cheek, until he dropped asleep. And the do; lifted his head and looked around at tis all, as If to say: "Yes, yes, truly, truly, but what Is In the alrT there Is something going to take plae?." And we the younger ones N knew better than to stick our fingers into a pie neither yet baked nor quite born. "Mother," paid our father, "shall it be hickory, or maple, or ash, or beech, or oak?" for he was thinking of the oven by the side of the flreplacs; and It was already the day before the great day when we should all be thankful. You never saw a brick oven! And yet you boast of the .wonderful Invention of this age! A chim ney now Is two feet square, with a hole In it aa big as a base ball, or possibly a foot bail. But then, blews my soul, but a chimney was aa big aa a modern kitchen; and we sent boys up and down them fre quently to clean. On one side of the fire place was a big door, and lYj opened Into a vast recess for a fire, and under neath into another for the ashes and half burned brand". "Let It be betch," said my mother. "But," said my father, "is not maple better wood, or hickory, or oak?" "It It be beech," sjld the little mother, . "for there is no wood that smells so weetly; and let there be leaves on It and mall branches." Then they lipsed Into alienee; only that the wood In the great fireplace threw out coal with a great snap, as If It would have something to ay In the matter. Thanksgiving day came. Again and again was the big door opened, until the huge sticks of beech were turned to coal. At last the little mother said: "Yen, In- . deed, now It is time." Then, with a long flat shovel, she drew out the ember and leveled down the g'owln coals. The whole floor of the oven was a beautiful scarlet that throbbed with color. The shovei was now deftly rested on the mouth of the oven, and on Its broad blade was placed pan after pan of the brain Inventions of the little mother, and they were slid with a careful shove Into Uie heart of the fur nace. There were chicken pies and there were home-grown ducks, and there were turkeys; and a little later there were pies of other sorts. But last of all came the glory of all. a butternut pudding. We young one stood about and aaw all this; and we stood now on one leg and now on another, but our tongues they dared not wag. Waa not this tlw day of the gen eral, the little mother? And did ahe not command marveloutdy ? For this day w had pared, and peeled, and chopped, and ground, and picked feathers; and we had cackled Incessantly; but today was not all at stake? Here was art, the highest, the pureit art; to bring all things to perfec tion and not have one mistake. Who in all the work! la like a true ho me keeper? Who has art like here, who will build our bodie, yea, and create our charactera, from corn and chickens and pumpkins? Ah, the little motherl but you should have seen her! How she moved among the mysteries; and. .how ah ordered the elements. There were no railroad then, or at least they were far away and few la number. There was no noise of steam roaring and whistling up and down our valleys; and we did not ruah about the world as If there were no such thing a space at all, until we lost all power to rest. But once a year we came together, with our ox team and on horseback; and- we came aa families, taking our time about It: and It waa a great event. AH the morning we had gone to the windows, looking down the street and wondering when the uncles and the aunta would get there; for they were to come from (.1hu',y.r;, p1 frnm T f rk tmr. and from Ortakany; and we would give our thanks together to our Common Father; and beside them, there were . the two grandmothers, who lived not so far off. It was half way to noon before the tired team were all In the barns; and the grand mother were the center of a restless group. In the spar room, that opened off the huge kitchen, and It was never opened except for occasions of state. Thure were nine of tha cousin, and two of tb aunta, two of the uncles and there were the grandmothers. Besides these our uncles, Georgo and Sam, who were a part of our own family, This was our little world, and we had it all to ourselves. Indeed! -but we did not hear 'n those days every morning from Bombay and New Zealand, or even from New York or London; nor had we got to calling all sorts of heathen brothers! The family was an Institution; and it was not easily broken up. We had need of more gossip, and to ' make more of the littlo world as we saw It and felt It. "Mother," and the door opened. The father put his head Inside, saying, "Mother, my stomach has become a clock, and It says a quarter before twelve." The little mother laughed and said, "Such a wooden clock as that! 'Tis half past twelve; and you may come in and help." Then the shovel was carefully slipped under dUh after dish, aa they were drawn to the oven' entrance by the father, while the little commander thrust a broomspltnt Into each one, to test its ripeness. Ten minute more for the chicken pie, fifteen more for the turkey! As for the pies of pumpkin and apple and plum and dried cherries, were 'they not already on the long tob!e; and a-; for the mince pies, they had been baked the day before In the Dutch oven. We all stood around like so many herons, on one leg. It was impossible to keep still. Bless my Foul, what smells! I have never known since that anything like It altnough I have been to Mexico and Aus tralia and the Spice Islands. There was no conf anion among the odors as there surely will be where tho cook is not a born poet. Yes, they all harmonized, and blended In one great soul and stomach symphony. Now we might chatter all we choose, for the crisis was past. The cat got off her cushion and rubbed one of us and then another, as if she would say. "Is It not all right? Yes, indeed. It Is a success. The smell Is without a single defect." We flew around to set the table and bring the chairs. I'rererves and Jelly must be brought from the closet; and this was the work of the tall grandmother, who carried the key. There were Damson plums, and there were Greengage, and Vergalieu pear with honey. There were Bpitsenberg apples and Pippins and Bwaara and Gllliffeura. There were great pans full of butternut and hickory nuta, that we had cracked the night before. Then the father, having drawn the last dish from the oven, brought In a great brown pitcher full of fresh cider. It was made, every drop of It, from the yellow spice apple that grew In the garden behind the barn. It was none of your thin ard watery stuff; nor had it a thousand ques tionable flavor. O! glorious juice of the moat glorious fruit God ever made or man . cultivated. Cider! let me sliuf thy praise, In these degenerate days, when men know no better than to prefer crasy decoction that bewilder thought and perfect affection. Then the little mother with a sweeping look called out. "Now, Indeed, you may come. It la all ready." As If! As If It were only as it. The gods on Olympus with Ganymede never had such a ban quet! But It was her way only truly she knew what she had wrought. Sitting at one end of the tabic, 'she smoothed down her apron, drew her lips tightly together and looked critically across the table, while the dear father said, "Lord, we thank Thee for what Thou hast provided. Make us ever worthy of Thy bounties, and ever faith ful to our day and our duty. Amen." I will not cay that the littlo mother was rot jealous of the Lord; but she had not long to wait for her own thanks and praure. Plateful after plateful disappeared; and all the time the air was full of "Mother, this la inarvelous good! Mother, ah, what a chicken pie! But, mother, this is exact!" And the aunts kept asking for recipes for making this and for making that; and they were saying, "Ah, but I must learn of you." And, "Yea, Indeed, how shall one make such a pumpkin pie!" or "Such plum marmalade!" or "Such delicious coffee." A little flattery Is not a bad thing. We try It sometime In our prayer. It Is bet ter than fault-finding always. When at last the feasting was ended, and we could positively hold no more, we sang a hymn of praise to the Infinite Giver, and then the men folk went out to Inspect the crops and the animals, and to compare their plan and the result of the year's work. There waa no communism or so cialism In those day, to destroy Individual ity of purpose and effort. Yet we co operated In way that mad a unit of so ciety. No building was ever erected but by joint effort of the neighborhood, nor did a family fall to enter Into the plana and hopes of all the branches that went out from It. As for the women indoors, were they not also aa one? The clatter of tongues and of dishes was harmonious; and many a good story and bit of gentle rnmln followed hv peals of laughter. Each family history for the year was re lated and a general council both gave and took advice. Above all the word of the dear old grandmothers were weighed. And there were packages made up that should a be borne home by each uncle and aunt, a , reminders of the blessed day and the won derful feast. "To be sure," said the MtU mother, "but we stIU have enough for a dosea more; id jov shall carry a basketful to Airaty, Years Ago Toutelotte and another to Anno Ecnaway." So. the day was closed with thanksgiving as well a thankseating and thankssaying. God be praised, wo were not selfish In those days. We had not then learned to elbow out everybody etee, and to break each other down as a matter of business. No indeed, were we not all farmers, and pretty nearly on a level? We boy carried the basketful to the poorer neighbors; and I think we as good a ate two dinners that day for did not the recipient bless u and make us feel that it Is more blessed to give than to receive? Bo the day parsed away; and it was S o'clock when the cousin and aunts had wiped every dish and put them awayjn the homemade cupboard and the buttery. Then came night, first throwing about us and. over all the world a great cloak of golden mist. In farm life the evening Is always (he sweetest part of the day. The men gathered in, and we grouped about the Are. old and young together. The clatter of tongues was the printing of a great annual newspaper; for which everyone supplies a paragraph. And there was no need to dish in a lot of crime and shame; it was a family newspaper, fit to he read any where and everywhere, and the tall grand mother was chief editor. Then the candle were lighted not little fifteen, but six to the pound; standing on polished bra, that might have honored Solomon's temple; and we were as proud of our Illumination aa If we had known of and had possession of your electric lights. The father helped us to parch the corn, and he drew the cider, and he brought from the cellar the biggest Seek No Further and Holland pippins. The logs of maple were piled high on the andirons (our Yankee for handlron). The flames danced up the chimney, and the great oven still threw out some heat. At 8 o'clock we ate a lunch of samp and milk; holding our howls In our laps, and still sit ting by the fire. No Indeed! you do not know what samp is or rather what it was In those golden days. I can only say It was not your patent factory stuff. It was the highest evolution of Indian corn, by a process of Darwinian selection from first to last. It was the best the good Lord had rlpended, and the dear father had shelled and the little mother manipulated. It was food for the gods. I can never forget It; but shall I ever again taste It? At 9 o'clock we were all In our beds; and In our dreams were repeating the beautiful thoughts as sociated with Thanksgiving. a Albanian Proverbs An Austrian folk-lorlst asserts that the Albanian have the richest and moat In cltdve collection of proverbs In Europe. Hers are a few of them: If you fear God you will not fear man. If you do not keep your tongue at rest it la often In contact with an aching tooth. If you follow a crow long enough yo light on carrion. Words are feminine; deed masculine. Words won't make the wheels of a mill go round. If you don't obey your mother, you'll obey your stepmother. You cannot have harmony without noise. Fire, water and government don't un derstand mercy. New York Independent. Deacon's Thanksgiving TalkuV 'bout Thankagivln' sorter 'minds me of de day W'en we had de lattes turkey ever flopped hut wings dis way; En 'possum, r i mined wld 'tat era, en baked so Juicy brown, Kep' de 11 1' niggers smackin' of dey lip de table ruuu'l t En we 'lowed: "Senoe we a-havin' slch a Irolic of a teas' Wld de 'possum In de middle, lookin' glo- rloub wld grease. We'll ax de deacon over; fer dey never wus a place On the tip-top of creation had slch cause fur auyln' grace." Bo we axed him seen him corain' heerd him hummin' of a song; But ie goodness! he wus letchln' all his family erlong! HI wife, en twenty clilllun 'nough ter nutke a angel grieve (Wusn't thankful (er dat blessin' we WUS gwine ter receive.) t But dey come de deacon leadln'; chlllun lined fur north ter south! 'Beared to swallow up de vittles fo' dey. ever reached dey mouth! 'Peaied deacon xed a bletsln' on dat feaa, in brownest blonaom, Wld one eye on de turkey en de yuther on da 'potssum! En den he gone ter cyarvln', en 'twut den we eecn de wusst; lie helped hiase'f. gocd people, en de twenty. chlllun fust: Dey pa awed dey plate laic lightnln', es ha call 'em all by name, "Twell de 'possum wus a fhadder en da turkey wuz a frame! We sot dar, all kerflummuxed ter think, we give de feaa' Dat de turkey look so temptln' lat del (Kl B li 111 vtStmuou iu TCiLZ De very fatten' feller ever dumb a tree In fall. En de deacon La wd ferglve him! en his chiilun eat up all. Den de deacoa say: "Lawd blees you X feels lak 1 could nlwwitl I nln't had ttich 'i'hankiMrivin' aence Free dom time, broke out." D chlllun, lak a regiment, went 01!n' out de do', De deacon aingin'. "Praise de Lawd from whom all bieaala' flow!" Frank L. Staatoa In Collier" Weekly. i t