Published: November 21, 2008 02:24 pm            

Melrose students explain the thought behind Thanksgiving

PRINCETON — If Natalie Alvis had been there for the very first Thanksgiving, she thinks she would have been an Indian, “‘Cause they live out in the woods.”

Jacob Murphy would rather be a Pilgrim, because he’d much prefer living in a cabin over a teepee. And, Madison Ellis declared Wednesday she’d just be queen of everything.

A group of tiny Melrose Elementary School scholars explained the November holiday this week, weaving a tale that started overseas on a ship they thought may have been called The Flower and ended in America when the Pilgrims and Indians realized “they loved each other” all along.

Brittney Shrewsbury, Mia Malone and Jared Wood agreed that present-day celebrations are all about “getting together and eating,” while Corey Saunders said, “It’s where people get to visit other people they don’t really get to see.”

Specifically, Dylan Sanders said eating “pumpkin pie … I mean deviled eggs” is essential.

Peyton Brown preferred pumpkin pie, while Kara Basham looked forward to the stuffing.

But, way back on the first holiday, the small students said communication was more key than dinner to resolving the disputes between the two groups of people who claimed the same territory on Thanksgiving.

“The Pilgrims and Indians didn’t get along very much,” Logan Krauss explained. “Because of the way they talked.”

Once they found a way to bridge the language divide, Leah Baker’s first-graders decided dinner brought them all together, and turkey was undoubtedly the centerpiece.

Madison wasn’t exactly sure who killed the Thanksgiving turkey, but she was positive about the process.

“They found a turkey and chopped the neck. Then, they pulled off the feathers, and then, they skinned it, and then, they roasted it,” she said.

Since Pilgrims probably didn’t have stoves, Corey said the big bird was likely cooked over a campfire.

“They made a fire, and they cooked it like it was a stove,” he said.

Since a turkey isn’t very tasty if it’s too dry, the Thanksgiving chefs found a way to fix that.

“They put something over it to keep it from getting overburnt,” Dylan said. “It was probably something metal or made out of rocks.”

Once they agreed on a dinner menu, the kids imagined the Indians taught the Pilgrims everything from better building and local boating techniques, to planting corn and using the spears and axes the Indians already made.

Logan Cox said the Indians’ weaponry, especially tomahawks, were far more advanced than what the Pilgrims had, but Dylan wondered just what knowledge the two groups of historic people might have hidden.

“I’d like to build a robot turkey,” he said, simply shrugging when Baker asked if there were really robots on the first Thanksgiving.

Whether their turkeys are robots or roasted this year, the Melrose kids knew they were thankful for lots of different things.

Adrianna Thompson said she was most thankful for her “mommy and daddy,” and most of the class echoed her sentiments. Dylan appreciated Thanksgiving itself, while Logan Meadows added extended family and friends to the list.

Gypsie Mahon was especially thankful for her 10-year-old sister. Their favorite game is Hide and Seek, where Gypsie said she was best at hiding.

“I’m thankful for hospitals so they can take care of people who are sick,” Corey Saunders said.

Gavin Heatherly was thankful for his Wii, where he loves to play football, and Jacob said his Nintendo DS gaming system was his most prized possession.

Still, food and family topped the Thanksgiving lists that circulated through the classroom.

“Thanksgiving is where we celebrate eating what we eat,” Maria Tinio said.

“We celebrate it because they all loved each other,” Jared finished.

— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.

        

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