[Granville-Hough] 26 Nov 2009 - Thanksgiving Prayer for Alzheimer Caretakers

[Trustees for Granville W. Hough]

Date: Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:38:29 -0800
From: Granville W Hough <gwhough at oakapple.net>
Subject: Thanksgiving Prayer for Alzheimer Caretakers - 26 November 2009

It must have been Thanksgiving. 2005 while my son David Hough and his 
family were visiting me. We went over to the Alzheimer's home and gave 
this prayer in each of the three dining rooms. It just seemed to be the 
right thing to do for the patients and their hard-working caretakers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

O God, our Father in Heaven -

We thank you for this Thanksgiving day of remembrance.

We lift up to you our families and friends who live here and
who wonder each day what You have in store for them..

We especially lift up the young people who work here and
who help us each day,

In all the things that we must do to take care of our bodies
and restore our minds..

May God bless and keep us all,
and make His face to shine upon us,
and turn his countenance toward us,
and give us good appetites!

In Jesus name,

Amen

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Research Recommendations:/ Happy Thanksgiving/*
/by Michael J. Leclerc/

The holidays are upon us. Each year seems to fly by faster and faster, 
even though I know that 525,600 minutes have passed since last 
Thanksgiving, the same amount of time as it was between the 2007 and 
2008 holidays.

Several years ago I had the opportunity to have dinner at Plimoth 
Plantation, a meal similar to the original Thanksgiving banquet. The 
dinner was served as it would have been in 1627. These meals are offered 
regularly each fall by the Plantation, and are always sell-outs. It does 
give one pause, however, when one is in the middle of the experience.

Greens were plentiful, as were root vegetables and squash. Meat was 
rare, although a variety was served. In addition to the expected turkey, 
there was pork and fish. This yearÆs meal menu was:

Bill of Fare

    * Ciderkin
    * Cheate Bread and Butter

First Course

    * A Sallet
    * Mussels Seeth'd with Parsley and Beer
    * A Dish of Turkey, Sauc'd
    * A Pottage of Cabbage, Leeks & Onions
    * A Sweet Pudding of Native Corn

Second Course

    * Stewed Pompion
    * A Chine of Pork, Roast'd
    * Fricassee of Fish
    * Cheesecake made with spice and dried fruit
    * A Charger of Holland Cheese & Fruit

When it comes to seasoning, pepper was never put on the table. It was 
used in the preparation of the food. Sweets were part of the meal, not 
saved until the end. And far less sugar was available then, so ôsweetö 
is a relative term.

One uses the table manners of the time as well. Food is brought in 
large, communal bowls and serving platters, and everyone around the 
table helps themselves. And did I mention that forks were not used at 
the dinner table until the end of the seventeenth-century? Spoons, 
knives, and fingers are the eating utensils of the day.

And imagine the stress of those preparing the meal for the original 
Thanksgiving banquet. Picture them running around saying ôWhat time did 
you ask the Indians to come?ö and ôHow many friends are they bringing?ö 
and ôDo we have enough chairs for all of them?ö

As you gather with family and friends this Thanksgiving, donÆt forget to 
listen to the family stories. We recently gave introduction to genealogy 
talks to about 100 Boston University students getting started in 
genealogy. One of the things I told them to do was to ask questions 
about the family to their parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, 
ôthen step back and watch them argue about where or when someone was 
born and other details.ö

Thanksgiving is crazy and hectic, but it is a great time to get more 
information about the family. Just turn on your digital voice recorder, 
toss out a question, and leave the room to go mash the potatoes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. You can find out more information about those Thanksgiving dinners 
at Plimoth Plantation by visiting 

http://www.plimoth.org/plan-your-visit/shop-dine/themed-dining/thanksgiving-dining

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------I

GWH: I was never able to get my grandchildren, Susanna and Kendrick 
Hough, to remember the five Pilgrim ancestors they inherited from their 
Grandmother Carol. By the time I had identified these five family heads 
and got them recorded on Carol's Mayflower membership records, she had 
developed Alzheimer's disease and could not remember them either. 
Anyway, the family heads and Mayflower Compact signers were Thomas 
Rogers, Francis Cooke, Peter Brown, John Billington, and Francis Eaton. 
Then I think there was a sixth adult, an unnamed serving girl, who later 
married Peter Brown and became an ancestress. At one time I got together 
the names of all the ancestors (children, wives, and Compact signers) 
who could have been at the first Thanksgiving. This got too complicated 
for even me to remember. Grandpa.