I am writing this on the Friday morning after Thanksgiving. Because I like to finish one holiday before leaping ahead to the next, I am making this a quiet day, a space to reflect on what this annual feast, now so narrowly focused on eating and football, really means.
The actual history of Thanksgiving is far more complex, both messier and richer, than the story everyone knows about the Pilgrims inviting the Indians to dinner.
We hear very little about how the Pilgrims stole seed corn from the Nauset Indians of Cape Cod a few days after they arrived, or the fact that the land around Plymouth had already been cleared and cultivated by Pokanokets who had been wiped out by disease shortly before the newcomers arrived, or that when Native American neighbors came to help the Pilgrims they usually showed up naked!
We cheat ourselves when we settle for an oversimplified view of history because the arrival of the Mayflower in Plymouth represents a nitty-gritty struggle for survival which is as relevant today as it was for the residents of Plymouth in the 1620s.
In the economic turmoil of our times the same steps apply: ask for help, build a community, and start a business (which is another way of saying create something out of nothing).
I recently visited the Mayflower II, moored in Plymouth harbor, on a cold, raw, rainy day, and afterward, while looking for a place to get a hot beverage (and reflecting that the Pilgrims had not had that privilege), I happened to park in front of the Court Street Thrift Boutique.
Venturing inside, I discovered a thriving enterprise—a twelve-room house filled with creatively displayed used clothing, furniture, kitchenware and holiday decorations.
I was immediately welcomed by a courteous volunteer (who offered a level of customer service far exceeding what I received shopping for a MacBook Air).
She showed me the layout of the store and explained that all proceeds went to support domestic violence programs run by the South Shore Women’s Resource Center.
It was then that it struck me that the people who need their services have much in common with the Pilgrims.
When the Mayflower left in April, 1621, the Pilgrim women and children standing on Cole’s Hill watching it depart faced a world full of uncertainty and peril.
The women and children of domestic abuse also experience danger, fear and hardship. They too have watched their former lives disappear, and have had to start over with only such possessions they could carry with them.
The Pilgrims survived through the good will and generosity of strangers, the Native population, and they were able to sustain themselves by forming a strong community of mutual support and initiating an entrepreneurial endeavor, Plimoth Plantation.
Almost four hundred years later the spirit of the First Colony lives on at Court Street which offers a helping hand to victims of domestic abuse and sustains itself by a community business.
Whatever employment or unemployment situation you find yourself in this Christmas season, whatever you hope to accomplish in your professional life the coming year, I hope you will pause for a moment to think about the best of what the Pilgrims modeled and how their spirit is being perpetuated only a short distance away from the harbor where they landed.
In the economic turmoil of our times the same steps apply: ask for help, build a community, and start a business (which is another way of saying create something out of nothing).
If they can do it, so can you.
This thanksgiving, I enjoyed part of the PBS show highlighting the struggle or plan the Pilgrims had to get to Plymouth. First they left England and were sheltered in the Netherlands. Will have to get back to the beginnings at some future date.
This summer I enjoyed the view from the top of Corn Hill in Truro, saddened by the tale my friend’s father shared. The Indians were aghast ~ how could you steal our corn?!!
In surviving, it behooves us all to smile, help and remember to keep our own spirit constant while looking forward to new plans and adventures. Back to planning and new heights of creating. Happy Holidays, Beverly
Really nice column, Bev. I like the way you are able to make connections between our world now and that of hundreds of years ago. And how you make everything you do relevant, as well. It is certainly amazing how many ways our business community and our non-profit community work together as one–supported by the community. Your column points that out beautifully. Have a great holiday and a wonderful New Year. Andi
Excellent melding of old and new, a gentle reminder of how we should not oversimplify or modify like lemurs. It is up to individual families to preserve tradition and not be overrun with football, food and discount deals at the mall. Love “thrift” stores – now the vogue. In Sitka, AK, there is a cram-jammed, second-hand haven of leftbehinds of those who changed their minds about living in Alaska. Each item is priced low, causing a revolving door effect, so much so that many charities are funded. Thrift is synonymous with recycle. Your newsletter is also a reminder of how things have not changed, people still borrowing without asking, taking advantage of those less fortunate .. but, out of that comes a community with strong leaders. Wishing you the best in 2012.
I was touched by your article, how you related the historical struggle of the Pilgrims for survival to the struggle that survivors of domestic violence experience. I have done a great deal of work around domestic violence and it is a topic that must be continually brought to public attention, especially in this difficult economic environment. Domestic violence incidents increase as people are stressed and fearful about their livelihood. I also appreciated your reminding your readers that they can empower themselves and create life opportunities by asking for help and believing that there is something more that they can reach for. This is what I teach the abused women I work with. Enjoy the holidays Beverly.