When we arrived at the class on Wednesday, we met Logan dressed in period costume. He pointed to a large box of hats and accessories and encouraged all the kids to dress up if they wanted. Jonathan couldn't decide whether he wanted to be a Colonial Dude or an Indian Dude, so he kept switching hats every so often.
Walking us through a timeline starting in the 1200's, Logan spoke for two hours setting the stage for the eventual settlement in Jamestown. He spoke about the early martyrs of the church and dramatically demonstrated a mock burning at the stake. The kids oohed and aahed over the swords and various weapons he brought out while delicious smells wafted from the kitchen to the porch. 
Logan, the kids and the sword
Then it was time to eat. We were ushered inside to long banquet tables where there were place settings for dozens of adults but none for the kids. Logan explained that in colonial days the men hunted, the women cooked and the children served. There was a clear hierarchy, and everyone worked together. There were no settings for the kids because they were supposed to serve us! Hmmmm....I was beginning to like the sound of this! ;-) The kids would be allowed to eat after they served, but they had to do so standing up.
The pilgrims often prayed looking up with their eyes opened, hands toward heaven. While we imagined ourselves as pilgrims, Logan led us in a simple prayer of gratitude to God.
We were first given five to six dried kernels of corn each. This was a typical meal on a normal non-feast day, which is why many of the pilgrims died of starvation. Daniel ate all of his dried corn ration and was a little concerned that was all he was going to get until he saw turkeys being served.
The Thanksgiving menu was prepared to 1623 standards. It was not quite like the modern feast we are accustomed to. We had to eat with only spoons and knives, because forks weren't common yet at that point in history. There were roast turkeys and lots of food, but there the similarities ended.
The salad was made of wild greens. The two kinds of bread had interesting textures. There were platters of goat (game) cooked with some kind of grain, perhaps barley or wild rice. Plates were piled high with fresh vegetable slices or grapes. Wooden bowls were filled with boiled onions and currants, sauteed wild greens or bread stuffing with piquant shredded cabbage.
Huge cast iron pots held whole stewed pumpkins--unsweetened, because sugar was a luxury. Prune pies were the hit of the day--unappealing in appearance but very delicious in taste. To quench our thirst we drank root beer (pretending it was beer) and ladled water out of buckets into stone mugs.
"Mom, are you sure this is bread?"
Delicious prune pie
The kids bravely tried a little of everything. No one cared much for the goat dish, however. After having a Thanksgiving meal like the pilgrims did, they were decidedly very thankful they didn't live in 1623! After all, there were no pumpkin pies back then. We had a thoughtful conversation about being content and grateful for all of God's blessings.
Later, as we helped to clean up, we were amazed to learn that Logan was one of the oldest of 15 children--5 by birth, 10 adopted! His mom glowed with the joy of the Lord, and with her youthful smile could have easily passed as one of the daughters. In awe, I asked her for her organizational secrets, and she laughingly replied that they run a tight ship and keep things simple.
She stressed that the entire family works together--the older kids help the younger kids, and everyone pitches in with household duties. Dinners are usually made in the five crockpots, and when kids are hungry for a snack she points to the fruit bin. I noticed that the older daughters, who were also dressed in period costumes, were hard at work in the kitchen. I told her that if she ever held a Proverbs 31 woman mentoring class, I'd be the first to sign up.
We left the Creighton home very thankful for God's grace demonstrated not only through history but also through a remarkable family with a heart to serve. Thanksgiving will never be just another holiday to us again.
"So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations." Psalm 79:13
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