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Thanksgiving Time Travel
Where was the first Thanksgiving in America? Ann learns of Virginia’s little-known claim.
Sunlight sparkles on the James River as Captain John Woodlief and his crew come ashore after a tortuous voyage from England in 1619.
As they kneel on the Virginia shore, the Captain proclaims, “Wee ordaine that the day of our ship’s arrivall at the place assigned for plantation in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God.”
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| Actors portray crew of the Goode Shippe Margaret, giving thanks after their 1619 landing in Virginia, as the painting below also depicts. |
Dressed as a colonial woman, I witness a reenactment of this historic moment at the Virginia Thanksgiving Festival in Charles City County.
When festival president Peggy DeBellis Bruce invited me for a workday, she emphasized, “The landing at Berkeley Plantation took place more than a year before the Pilgrims arrived on the New England coast!”
She’s promised me a glimpse of the past…
8:00 a.m.» In an outbuilding at Berkeley Plantation, Peggy and I make sandwiches and assemble sack lunches for the reenactors and her crew.
“The festival is run by volunteers and is free to the public,” she says. “It’s held annually the first Sunday in November—dedicated to history, food and fun with a living history program. I got involved in the festival through my father, who worked for Virginia economic development and tourism.”
8:30 a.m.» Plantation owner Malcolm “Jamie” Jamieson stops in to check on some details with Peggy. He explains that the record of the 1619 colonists’ landing at Berkeley, long buried in documents at the New York State Library, wasn’t unearthed until the 1930s.
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“My dad, ‘Mac’ Jamieson, began the festival in 1960, inviting descendants of Captain Woodlief to come for a reenactment of the arrival,” recalls Jamie. “In 1963, President John F. Kennedy named Virginia as well as Massachusetts in his official Thanksgiving proclamation.”
9:00 a.m.» On the wide lawn near the river, Peggy and I help her husband, Jay, decorate the stage and set up hundreds of chairs for the afternoon program. Her cell phone rings often with questions about vendors, parking, etc.
10:00 a.m.» Wearing the colonial-style dress I rented for the occasion, I’m swept into history on a tour of the plantation mansion (an option for festival-goers, there is a nominal charge).
Rich in history, the stately, well-preserved house was not only the home of Benjamin Harrison, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, but later, President William Henry Harrison. George Washington and nine other U.S. Presidents were entertained here over the years, I learn!
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| Virginia Thanksgiving Festival President Peggy Bruce welcomes guests. Also on stage are Berkeley Plantation owner Malcom E. Jamieson (left), the Rev. Virginia Heistand-Jones and Joseph Filipowski portraying Capt. John Smith. |
Perched on a hilltop among formal terraced boxwood gardens, the home overlooks the James River. Thanksgiving Festival activities take place on the wide lawn, which extends a quarter-mile down to the shore.
Colonial Dance Craze
12:00 p.m.» People arrive with picnic baskets or patronize a community group’s food concession. They roam at their leisure, stopping at several historical attractions where Peggy has me scheduled to help out.
12:15 p.m.» The dance craze in colonial times was the minuet! I take a quick lesson from docent Susan Irvin, then help her teach the steps to groups from the crowd.
We pair up in twos, forming a line. My first partner is a smiley young girl. “Hold your hand on top of your partner’s, barely touching,” Susan instructs as a minstrel plays the melody.
“Tap your right foot in front of you three times, then once to the side, once in the back and step forward.” Our dance line moves ahead as we repeat the pattern with one foot and then the other. Finally, we face our partners for a twirl, followed by a bow. I love the way my long skirt swooshes!
The minuet is fun—and actually quite easy. Every few minutes, Susan and I teach a new group—from kids to seniors.
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| Ann helps Girl Scouts learn the minuet. |
12:45 p.m.» There were no fancy toys or computer games back in the 1600s, as I’m reminded when I help kids make corn husk dolls. Docent Melissa Back has plenty of husks soaking in water for the project. We work with groups of eight or 10.
I lend a hand as the girls layer and fold husks to shape the doll’s body and head…roll husks for arms…and find nice, wide husks for the skirt.
Melissa says, “It’s cheating a little, but we’ll use small rubber bands to hold the dolls’ corn silk hair in place and markers to draw on the face. In colonial times, the people didn’t have these!”
Although similar, each cute doll ends up with a unique expression, hairstyle and personality.
What? No Turkey?
1:30 p.m.» Children sit on quilts and straw bales as author Lisa Suhay reads her book, Pardon Me. It’s Ham, NotTurkey. To give her voice a break, I read the fun little story aloud for a group, pausing to show the colorful illustrations.
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“Each and every year just before Thanksgiving Day, the President pardons a turkey—just lets it waddle away,” the tale begins. When the young boy narrator in the story asks his teacher about this tradition, the two delve into history, and he learns about the first Thanksgiving in Virginia.
“Since Virginians were the first,” I read on, “then really who’s to say, shouldn’t it be ham, not turkey that we share Thanksgiving Day?
“Virginia’s known for Presidents, peanuts, mountains and shores—but even more for its fine ham, which everyone adores. “So I’m starting a petition requesting a Presidential pig pardon. Who knows? Maybe next year, we’ll hear oinking in the White House garden!”
Traditional Handcrafts
1:45 p.m.» At the Black River Powder Encampment, coffee and a pot of beans simmer over a wood fire, while two women make baskets and cotton cord.
I try my hand at weaving the sturdy cording, used for clothing ties and other household purposes. It’s done by looping cotton thread over the prongs of a special wooden “fork” and reminds me a little of spool knitting. In a few minutes, I move aside so others can try.
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2:00 p.m.» Peggy warmly welcomes a crowd of close to 1,000, gathered for the main program. There’s a madrigal choir performance, an invocation, presentation of colors, and Malcolm Jamieson gives a brief history of the plantation.
Then, The Colonial Players of Fort Lee Playhouse present Landing of the Goode Shippe Margaret.
Captain Woodlief, two sailors and a clergyman, who came ashore at this very site in 1619, take us back almost 400 years. The Captain calls the roll of the 38 stalwart men who arrived on board the 35-foot Margaret. (Thirty-eight people on such a small ship had to be mighty tight quarters!)
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| Friendship dance. Chickahominy Indian Tribal Dancers in colorful native dress perform for the crowd at Virginia Thanksgiving Festival. | |
Men in the audience, who were prompted earlier, respond with a loud “Yea!” when a particular name is read. Some of these men are actual descendants of Capt. Woodlief, who are here for a family reunion!
The crowd joins the troupe in their prayer of thanksgiving for safe passage to the New World. Here, they plan to plant crops and set up a commercial center on 8,000 acres—a land grant from the Berkeley Company in Bristol, England.
Area Native Americans
3:00 p.m.» Later in the program, members of the Chickahominy Indian Tribe explain their connection with early settlers in the area and perform traditional dances. Their regalia is beautiful, the dances full of symbolism. For the friendship dance finale, the audience is invited to participate.
3:45 p.m.» Peggy and I chat afterward, as the actors and people in the crowd bring this unique workday to a congenial conclusion.
I thank Peggy for inviting me and say, “From now on, I’ll celebrate every Thanksgiving remembering Virginia’s claim to be the first!”
Nothing against the Pilgrims.
Editor’s Note: Link to the Thanksgiving Festival Web site through countrywomanmagazine.com/links