Did You Know? Lesser Known Facts About Thanksgiving

• As children we were taught that the first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth Colony (in present-day Massachusetts) in 1621, but did you know that it was more than 200 years later that President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving? 

• That Sarah Josepha Hale, who actively campaigned to have Congress declare Thanksgiving an official national holiday, also penned the ever-popular nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb?” Congress did, in fact, make this declaration in 1941. 
• That approximately 42.2 million Americans travel 50 miles or more from home on Thanksgiving? We Americans certainly yearn to go home for the holidays! 
• That just six states—Arkansas, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia—account for nearly two-thirds of the turkeys that are raised in the U.S. each year? 
• That Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin are the top cranberry growing states? 
• That California, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania are the major pumpkin growing states? Total US pumpkin production exceeds 1.5 billion pounds each year! 
• That North Carolina produces more sweet potatoes than any other state in the US? Along with California and Mississippi, over 2.4 billion pounds of sweet potatoes are grown each year! 
• That the Guinness Book of World Records documented the largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds? Baked on October 8, 2005 by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio, the recipe called for 900 pounds of pumpkin, 62 gallons of evaporated milk, 155 dozen eggs, 300 pounds of sugar, 3.5 pounds of salt, 7 pounds of cinnamon, 2 pounds of pumpkin spice, and 250 pounds of crust. That’s a lot of pie! 
• That across America, “traditional” Thanksgiving dishes are quite varied? You’ll find oysters on the East Coast, Dungeness crab on the West Coast. Stuffing may be made from cornbread, might include sausage, and maybe even chestnuts, depending on the particular region. 
• That the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade took place in New York City in 1924 and featured animals from the Central Park Zoo? 

• That Snoopy has appeared as a giant balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade more times than any other character in history? More than 3 million people line the streets of NYC each year to view the parade and over 44 million people watch the parade on their TVs each year as a part of the Thanksgiving Day tradition. 

Try these fun, regional Thanksgiving Holiday recipes (and be sure to include the kids in the kitchen fun!) 

King’s Arm Tavern Cream of Peanut Soup (Williamsburg, Virginia) 

1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
¼ cup butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour  
2 cups smooth peanut butter  
1 ¾ cups light cream
Chopped peanuts (for garnish) 
2 qt chicken or vegetable stock 

Sauté onion and celery in butter until soft, but not brown. Stir in the flour until well blended. Add stock, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and puree in food processor or blender. Add peanut butter and light cream, stirring to blend thoroughly. Return to low heat and heat until just hot (about 10 minutes). Do not boil. Garnish with peanuts and serve immediately. 

Yield: 10-12 servings 



Grandma’s Candied Yams (North Carolina) 

3 medium sweet potatoes (about 2 lbs) 
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup raisins
Pinch of salt
½ tsp cinnamon  
1/3 cup maple syrup, honey, or molasses  
2 tbsp lemon or orange juice  
½ to ¾ cup miniature marshmallows 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot of boiling water, cook sweet potatoes until tender, about 40 minutes. When sweet potatoes have cooled, peel them and cut into ½ inch slices. Place in baking dish, dot with butter and sprinkle with raisins. Top with salt, cinnamon, and maple syrup, honey, or molasses. Drizzle with juice and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, top with marshmallows, and bake for an additional 5 minutes, until marshmallows have browned. Serve hot. 

Yield: 4 to 6 servings 



New Prague Hotel’s Candied Apple Wedges (New Prague, Minnesota) 

6 to 8 apples, Jonathan or Winesap 
2 tbsp butter
1 cup brown sugar  
Pinch of salt 

Core apples and slice into wedges. Do not peel. In a frying pan, dissolve brown sugar in butter. Add apples and a pinch of salt. Cook uncovered on very low heat for 1 hour, turning frequently. Serve immediately. 

Yield: 6 to 8 servings 



Grandma’s Baking Powder Biscuits (Maine) 

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 
2 ½ tbsp cream of tartar 
1 ¼ tsp baking soda 
¾ tsp salt 
2 tbsp shortening 
¾ cup milk 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In large mixing bowl, sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Work shortening into the mixture, first using a wooden spoon, then your fingers or pastry blender, a fork, or two knives. Stir in enough milk to make the dough very moist but not sticky – the secret to moist, puffy biscuits. 

Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured board. Knead it up to 10 turns and then pat it into a flat circle. With a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into ½-inch thickness. Cut into biscuits with a lightly floured 2-inch round cutter or glass. For crispy-crust biscuits, place biscuits about 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet, closer together for soft-crust biscuits. Prick the top of the biscuits with a fork. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the sheet immediately and serve hot. 

Yield: 16 biscuits 



Mulled Cider (Arkansas) 

2 sticks cinnamon 
12 whole cloves 
2 tsp whole allspice 
1 gallon apple cider 
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed 
1 lemon, thinly sliced 

Tie cinnamon sticks, cloves, and allspice in a small cheesecloth bag. Pour cider into a large, heavy enamel kettle, then add bag of spices and brown sugar. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove the bag of spices. Pour cider into a metal or heatproof punch bowl, float lemon slices on top, and serve hot. 

Yield: 12 servings