Remember Pilgrims’ sacrifices as holiday nears
Gardening is a pleasure now; it was done for survival then

By Rodd Moesel

Published: November 24, 2008

It is Thanksgiving week, when we continue the great American tradition of reflecting on the annual harvest, enjoying the fellowship of family and celebrating our many blessings.

Our Pilgrim ancestors courageously came to this new land with very little as they started a new life in the Americas. Everyone was farming and gardening literally for their survival. They were dependent on the land and the natural conditions to meet their daily needs, and to put away enough food and fiber to survive the long, cold winter.

Every person was involved in sustainable agriculture and the health of their crops, and the yield at harvest could be a matter of life and death.

The pilgrims and other early settlers learned much from the American Indians, including how to grow the crops of the new land and get better with each crop. Some areas were better for corn, and others for beans, potatoes or other crops.

Over time, sharing led to trading and eventually to street markets and today’s farmers markets and grocery stores. We no longer have to raise our own crops, unless we want to, and can select our own skill or trade and then barter or buy the food crops we desire. Farmers have grown very efficient and can support dozens of families instead of struggling to support just their own.

We are blessed to have the opportunity to grow the crops we choose, even pretty flowers or shade trees, and not be forced to spend all our time and energy struggling to raise the grain, vegetables, fruits and animals needed to provide for our families.

Though most of us don’t have to farm for our survival, we enjoy an inner peace and great satisfaction in raising our own vegetables, fruits and flowers. There is a special pleasure in putting your hands in the soil to plant seeds, bulbs or transplants, and to help those small plants grow into the wondrous and beautiful plants that feed our stomachs and souls.

Use Thanksgiving to appreciate and celebrate your bountiful harvest of the past year, and count your blessings, especially the fact your survival this winter probably does not depend totally on the bean, corn and potato harvest of last summer and fall.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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