Aunt Donna's Turkey Day Facts (November)

1. The 'First Thanksgiving' was actually a secular event. A Calvinist Thanksgiving actually did occur in 1623 but did not involve sharing food with the Native Americans. http://www.gotquestions.org/calvinism.html

2. The first National celebration of Thanksgiving was declared in 1777 by the Continental Congress. However, this was not an annual event.

3.The president to proclaim the first 'National Day of Thanksgiving' in 1789 was George Washington. http://wilstar.com/holidays/wash_thanks.html

4. In 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving. http://holydays.tripod.com/linc.htm

5. Every President since Lincoln has proclaimed Thanksgiving Day. But in 1939, 1940, and 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Thanksgiving the third Thursday in November to lengthen the holiday shopping season.

6. It was not until 1941, that congress declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. It was declared to be the fourth Thursday in November.

7. Since 1947, the National Turkey Federation has presented the President of the United States with one live turkey and two dressed turkeys. The live turkey is pardoned and lives out the rest of its days on a peaceful farm.

8. At one time, the turkey and the bald eagle were each considered the national symbol of the United States of America.

9. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and eaten in the U.S. at Thanksgiving—that's one sixth of all turkeys sold in the U.S. each year.

10. Recent studies suggest that carbohydrate-rich meals may cause sleepiness by increasing the number of tryptophans in the brain.

Coloring page: http://www.kookerkids.com/Coloring/thanksgiving/turkey.htm

The Pumpkin Patch Kids (October)

Coloring page: http://www.kookerkids.com/Coloring/halloween/jack-o-lantern.htm

After Searching Hi & Lo...The Pumpkin Treasures

So many pumpkins, so little time...

Aunt Donna's Enchanting Local History Facts

The Enchanted Forest in Ellicott City , Maryland was the first Theme Park in Maryland and the East Coast, and the second oldest Theme Park in the USA, Disneyland being the oldest. It opened Monday, August 15, 1955. Admission was $1 for adults and 50¢ for children. It featured no mechanical rides or spectacular special effects, and in its heyday it hosted some 300,000 visitors annually. Opened in 1955, it delighted generations of families from far and wide throughout the next three decades. Sadly, the park closed in 1988, when the original owners sold the property. In 2005, a number of items were moved to Clark's Elioak Farm and restored

For those old enough to remember, these names should make sense: Mother Goose and her Gosling, the Black Duck, the six Mice that pulled Cinderella's Pumpkin Coach, Papa Bear, the giant mushrooms, the bell-shaped Flowers, two giant Lollipops, a number of Gingerbread Men, a large Candy Cane, the Little Red Schoolhouse, the Crooked House and the Crooked Man, the Easter Bunny's House, the Beanstalk with the Giant at the top, The Three Pigs, Goldilocks and the three Bears, etc. all can now be seen displayed throughout the farm. Read Online Preservation Article:
http://www.nationaltrust.org/magazine/archives/arch_story/010904.htm

The Enchanted Forest at Clark's Elioak Farm

So much to see...

And do!!!

Hayride (Ridin' Dirty Country Style)

DFGs...Down on the Farm

Horse N' Around