One Thanksgiving season a family was seated around their table, looking at the annual holiday bird. From the oldest to the youngest, they were to express their praise. When they came to the 5-year-old in the family, he began by looking at the turkey and expressing his thanks to the turkey, saying although he had not tasted it he knew it would be good. After that rather novel expression of thanksgiving, he began with a more predictable line of credits, thanking his mother for cooking the turkey and his father for buying the turkey. But then he went beyond that. He joined together a whole hidden multitude of benefactors, linking them with cause and effect.

He said, "I thank you for the checker at the grocery store who checked out the turkey. I thank you for the grocery store people who put it on the shelf. I thank you for the farmer who made it fat. I thank you for the man who made the feed. I thank you for those who brought the turkey to the store."

Using his Columbo-like little mind, he traced the turkey all the way from its origin to his plate. And then at the end he solemnly said "Did I leave anybody out?"

His 2-year-older brother, embarrassed by all those proceedings, said, "God."

Solemnly and without being flustered at all, the 5-year-old said, "I was about to get to him."

Well, isn't that the question about which we ought to think at Thanksgiving time? Are we really going to get to him this Thanksgiving?

This is part 5 of a number of facts associated with THANKSGIVING. This is an all American holiday. Although the US and Canada celebrate the day on different dates, the purpose is the same.

Still more first Thanksgivings:

Here are a few more "first" Thanksgivings. These were by English colonists. The list of Thanksgivings presented today and the previous couple of days is not an exhaustive list. There are numerous more claims to the "first" Thanksgiving.

In 1586, the first thanksgiving held by Englishmen on the North American continent took place on Roanoke Island, North Carolina. This celebration was by the company of 100 men from Cornwall, England that Sir Walter Raleigh had brought to America to found a colony. After a year when the relief ship arrived, they held a thanksgiving dinner. Following the feast, discouraged with the hardships and perils, they all went back to England.

On April 29, 1607 the colonists of Jamestown came ashore at Cape Henry and erected a wooden cross in the dunes. They then conducted a thanksgiving service conducted by Reverend Robert Hunt. In 1609, after a hard winter they called "the starving time" the colonists at Jamestown called for a time of thanksgiving. This time of thanksgiving came after the original company of 409 colonists had been reduced to only 60 survivors. The colonists prayed for help that finally arrived by a ship filled with food and supplies from England. On June 10, 1610, De La Warr arrives with saving provisions, and meets Sir Thomas Gates and the remaining population heading for Newfoundland. He turns them back and again a service of thanksgiving is held. This service was conducted by Rev. Richard Bucke. Again in 1612 a thanksgiving and a dinner is recorded to have been held after the arrival of Governor Dale with a ship-load of women intended to become the wives of the settlers.

In 1619, a dinner of thanks was held at Berkley Plantation on the James River in Virginia. Captain John Woodleaf held service; "Wee ordaine that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned for plantacon in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually keept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty god." Perhaps this was to be an annual occurrence an it was possibly repeated on 1620 and 1621, by 1621 the colony was wiped out and the tradition ended.

OK - Next - the 'real' first Thanksgiving.