“When was your family’s first Thanksgiving?”
By
Gerry Niskern
When did your family celebrate its first Thanksgiving? Perhaps it was when they found a place to sleep or the day father got a job? Maybe it was when he collected his first pay and your family could finally send some money home.
I’m sure by now you realize I’m talking about your grandparents or even great-great- grandparents. Most people think of Thanksgiving as family, food and football. We take it for granted, but those immigrant ancestors of ours didn’t.
Thanksgiving is the time to gather the family together and give thanks for what we have and remember where we came from. Most families have stories of the their first member who settled in this land. They also have favorite foods that they serve on the big day. African-Americans might have Ijera, tiny loaves of bread that’s great for soaking up the turkey gravy. You’ll find Menudo for starters and Calotes al Horno (yams) on the Mexicans table. Perhaps you roots are Italian; then Taralli, made from your grandmother’s recipe, will be passed with the coffee.
According to my mother, her siblings a hard time explaining the traditional Thanksgiving to my grandmother who emigrated from Austria in the late 1800s. She was puzzled because, “People should give thanks every day.” Grandma was willing to cook the meal, “But not buy turkey; we have chickens”. I’m sure there was halupkis on her table too.
America hasn’t suddenly become a multi-cultural nation. It always has been a nation of immigrants. Those ancestors of ours who poured into America in the 1800’s and early 1900 learned about Thanksgiving gradually, as well as the laws, taxes, and social mores. They came from all over the world to work. Many took the toughest jobs and were paid the lowest wages. The United States needed the cheap labor and with it this country changed and prospered.
However, the immigrants changed too. Whether you forefathers were European, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Black, Latino, the list goes on, they surely felt a sense of alienation. For the first time in their lives, they didn’t belong. They were the foreigners. The impact of separation from family and familiar surroundings was harsh. Every decision was crucial. It’s not surprising that many didn’t plan to stay. They wanted to work here, save and perhaps return to buy land or a business in the old country.
Many struggled to send money home too. According to Michael Barone, author of “The New Americans”, ‘by 1914 the Italian men were sending 14 million dollars annually to their families back in Italy. Many of the men went home and stayed until they needed money again. They made the ocean journey back and forth several times; it was a routine part of their lives until they were able to bring their families over.’
A good portion of our labor pool today is made up of immigrants. Among numerous tasks, they cook and serve our food, clean our homes, cut our grass and look after our elderly parents in nursing homes. They give energy to our work force by bringing in younger, eager workers. They contribute to the system through the many forms of taxes they pay. Most jobs they perform pay low wages and provide no health care for their families.
Of course, illegal immigration is and will remain a source of tremendous concern. Our government must deal with the illegal immigrants already here who have the documentations to become citizens and then, establish the long, over due law.
Our history is an ongoing process of learning and change by many people. There is room for many voices. And as my grandmother used to say, “You should give thanks every day.”