Pilgrims Arrive 400 Years Ago-- Part 5: Hard Times, Then a Feast

1621

Well, 399 years ago.

JANUARY-FEBRUARY

Struggling to build their settlement, the Pilgrims are ravaged by disease and want of food.

By spring, nearly half of them are dead.

MARCH 16

A Native-American man named Samoset enters the Plymouth colony and introduces himself to the Pilgrims.  Soon afterwards, Massasoit, leader of the Indians in the region, visits the settlement.

A peace treaty between his people, the Wampanoags, and the Pilgrims is adopted.

APRIL 5

The Mayflower departs Plymouth and returns to England. 

I imagine there were more than a few Pilgrims wondering if they should have been on it.

SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER

Sometime during this period, the Pilgrims and some 90 Indians join for a harvest festival that has come to be called the First Thanksgiving.

This feast takes place over several days, not just one day.

--Thanks and Thanks.  

10 Lesser-Known Facts About Revolutionary-Era America-- Part 1: We're Taller, and We Can Read Better and Make Babies Better. Then There Is That Drinking Thing

From the July 4, 2018, ListVerse by Kevin Klatman.

Go to the site for pictures and a lot more information.

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10.  AMERICANS WERE TALLER THAN THE BRITISH

On average, the British stood at 5-foot, five inches, and Americans were three inches taller.

9.  AMERICANS HAD A HIGHER LITERACY RATE THAN THE BRITISH

Much of this because the Puritans in New England valued education for religious purposes.

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8  ONE IN THREE WOMEN  WHO WALKED DOWN THE AISLE WAS PREGNANT

Perhaps because of the practice of bundling.

7.  AMERICANS DRANK ... A LOT

Alcohol safer than water.  Go figure.

6.  SOUTH CAROLINA: ONE OF THE MOST TOLERANT AND CULTURED OF THE COLONIES

New England colonies were too Puritan to go much for the arts.

--CooterGiveMeABeer

New England Coastal Lighthouses-- Part 3

NEW LONDON HARBOR:

"New London Harbor is Connecticut's oldest and tallest lighthouse. Originally established in 1761, the tower was financed by a lottery held by the Connecticut colonial legislature. The present lighthouse, built in 1801, was the one of America's earliest ones with a flashing beacon."

BOSTON HARBOR:

Boston Harbor Light, North America's first true light station, was established in 1716. The lighthouse was the last in the United States to be automated-- in 1998-- and is the only remaining American lighthouse with a resident keeper employed by the federal government. It was designated a National Historical landmark in 1964."

So, There You Have All Five New Lighthouse Stamps. --Cooter

New England Coastal Lighthouses-- Part 2

PORTSMOUTH HARBOR:

"The first navigational aid in New Hampshire was created in 1771, in the state's only deep-water port, Portsmouth Harbor. The present lighthouse, a 48-foot tower of bolted cast-iron plates built in 1878, was constructed inside its predecessor, a wooden tower that had succumbed to deterioration."


POINT JUDITH:

"Originally established in 1810 to guard a partucularly dangerous part of the Atlantic coast of Rhode Island. Point Judith's current lighthouse was built in 1857. In 2000, the lighthouse underwent a renovation using brownstone quarried from the same area as the 1857 tower."

Punch Yer Lights Out. --DaCoot

New England Coastal Lighthouses-- Part 1: Portland Head

From the back of the U.S. Postal stamp sheet, US Postal Service.

"Solitary and mysterious, lighthouses have fascinated people for centuries. Celebrating the eternal appeal of these historic becaons, the U.S. Postal Service continues the popular series of lighthouse stamps. Sought after by collectors and beloved by the public, this latest issuance in the series celebrates New England Coastal Lighthouses."

PORTLAND HEAD:

"Maine's oldest lighthouse, Portland Head has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1873. The lighthouse tower, constructed in 1791, and the Victorian keepers' house, now the home of a museum, are among the most beautiful-- and most frequently photographed-- stations in the United States."

Keeping the Light On. --Cooter

Lighthouse Stamps Out-- Part 2: Boston Light-- Oldest U.S. Lighthouse

The series will also commemorate the Portland Head lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine; the Portsmouth Harbor lighthouse in New Castle, N.H.; the Point Judith lighthouse in Narragansett, R.I.; and the New London Harbor lighthouse in New London, Ct.

BOSTON LIGHT

Boston Light, on Little Brewster Island, is the only lighthouse in the United States that still has a keeper. That would be Sally Snowman, even though the lighhouse was fully automated. A 1989 congressional mandate (I hate congressional mandates) said there must be someone on site because of its historical importance. (built in 1716, it is the oldest lighthouse in the country).

In 1719, Boston Light became the first North American lighthouse to install a cannon to signal ships in the fog. It was occupied by royal forces in the Revolutionary War and burned several times.

More to Come. --Cooter