Town Has Much to be Thankful For (1988)

by Jeffrey Bingham Mead

Greenwich Time, Greenwich, Connecticut

November 24, 1988

Not too long ago I was paging through a volume of reproduced Currier and Ives lithographs, and one caught my eye. Titled "Home to Thanksgiving," it was a picturesque scene set in the Connecticut of more than a century ago.

A barn in homestead with farm animals dot the foreground against the backdrop of mountains. Everything is covered with snow. A young man is shown walking to the front porch of the family homestead from his horse and sleigh to the greetings of his family emerging from the front door. A small plume of smoke billows from the chimney, suggesting the warmth generated by the hearth within. The artist who created this memorable classic was George Durrie.

The Thanksgiving holiday is best known Yankee celebration. The scenes and classically portrayed by the lithographers of Currier and Ives will no doubt be replayed in a more modern context in communities large and small across America, with the annual pilgrimage to home, or to the homes of grandparents or friends, where the inhabitants open their doors and set a place at the table for guest feast and enjoy themselves.

It is said that the Thanksgiving we celebrate every year started here in Connecticut with the proclamation by Gov. Bradford in 1639 rather then the "harvest festival" of the Massachusetts Pilgrims at the Plymouth Rock in 1621. Many today think of thanksgiving as a time for football, the Macy's parade in New York City, and the first avalanche of bargain-seeking customers at shops and stores.

Whatever the case may be, Thanksgiving has endured as a holiday and an institution throughout the centuries due to what I think is the almost universal theme the holiday conveys, namely, a time reserved by all to be thankful for accomplishments, values, faith, charity and virtue, as well as hopes and dreams for the future.

Greenwich, like so many other towns and cities in America, is blessed with many unsung heroes who conscientious good works and virtuous hearts orchestrate a genuine willingness to give for the sake of all.

Let us give thanks to the young people of Greenwich, whose enthusiasm, idealism, energy, perspective, education and desire to grow have served our community in a wide variety of good works. Their activities are worthy of respect and emulation. Let us recall those who picked up the trash and litter through Greenwich Green & Clean, the Boy Scouts who ventured door-to-door collecting food donations for the needy this holiday season, and those young people both past and present who have joined in a concerted effort with the Historical Society to clean up our historic and neglected burying grounds. There are those who work the check-out counters at the store or market, who deliver our newspapers, who volunteer to help the elderly and infirm, and those whose voices of commitment and dedication man crisis help lines. Through organizations such as S ADD and safe Rides, young people seek to improve the quality of our community. Many individuals and groups prosper because of this commitment.

We have much to appreciate in the rest of the population whose good works and find examples likewise do not receive the thanks in the rest of the year that they are due. There are many teachers and school professionals who meet, if not exceed, the expectations of our society. There are the clergy who tend our spiritual selves, providing dedicated guidance and consolation by their example during times of need. 

What of our firefighters, police officers and medical professionals, who protect life and property, cure and console the sick, whose dedication is all too often taken for granted? As well as people and organizations such as Meals on Wheels, the Red Cross and Parents Together. I know of many dedicated parents who do not spoil, neglect or overindulge their children, whose genuine concern for the scourge of drugs and other adolescent problems, of education and expanded opportunities for their children are laudable. The list goes on and on.

We have much to be thankful for, yet the hustle of our world often distracts us from this awesome self-evident truth. I am elated by President-elect Bush’s desire for a kinder and gentler nation, yet many elements of this vision exist today in the nooks and crannies of the nation’s fabric. Examples abound everywhere of such people whose examples are an inspiration to others.

We forget how free we are in America to speak our minds, write our views in the free press, to worship as we choose, to vote and to journey wherever we please. Those new and not so new to our nation may see a panorama of opportunities for all who dare themselves to work for and earn and challenge to make their dreams into reality.

Americans will, as our freedom so provides us, commemorate this holiday in many ways. Whether it be a gathering around a televised football game, a blazing hearth with a grandparent rocking in his or her chair, or a children's play in one of the primary schools, Thanksgiving is an authentic celebration of what our nation is about. 

And let us all pay respects to those among us who cook the feast and wash up afterwards. These nameless millions are the backbone of the holiday, and though mentioned last, they are not least important.

Thanksgiving is the epitome of the heart of America, reminding us as a people of the daunting task of sharing our fellowship, just as it has been done since those days immortalized by Currier and Ives -and before.

Jeffrey Bingham Mead, a direct descendent of one of the founding families of the town, is a free-lance writer and a member of the Greenwich Historical Society.