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Show Page HILL TOP TIMES 6 November 23, 1977 safety officials say have fatality free holiday I TAC Thanksgiving is a time for feasting and giving thanks for the year's abundant harvest. TAC Safety officials urge all personnel to remember this and strive to make the holidays safe and successful. For safety accounting, the four-da- y Thanksgiving holiday extends from 6 p.m. Nov. 23 to midnight, Nov. 27. (Nov. 25 is not an official day off for military personnel.) Thanksgiving last year was fatality free as were Labor Day and the two October holidays this year. With schools out for this occasion, many people have a desire to travel, sometimes too much and too far for the allotted time and conditions. Know your limits, officials say. The National Safety Council reports that holiday accidents have decreased significantly over the past years with hopes that the trend will continue. TAC Safety officials caution that inclement weather can be encountered almost anywhere in the United States at this time of the year. Travelers should make sure their automobiles are in good shape and plan their trips and activities well. Exposure to bad weather can cause serious illness and sometimes death. Safety officials ask all Air Force members to make this another fatality free holiday weekend. By Ma j. Tracy W. Jr. McCollister Although the duty to give thanks to God has been incumbent on the family of man since the beginning of time, of the observance in America Thanksgiving dates back to 1622. It was then that our pilgrim fathers discovered the secret of success and gathered to thank the Lord for his blessings. Most of us do not realize the significant place Thanksgiving Day has in American history. The first holiday designated by a Presidential proclamation in the United States was Thanksgiving Day. On Oct. 3, 1789, President George Washington issued a Nov. 388th Commander says joint 'Remember our heritage' mend to 1789 26, be Thanksgiving Day. Both houses of Congress, by their committee, him requested country. Thanksgiving gives us an opportunity to reflect on the abundances we have received as citizens of the United States. Ever since the early years of our nation, there have been forces at work to tear down our country and take away our freedoms. Those forces have never been as strong as they are today. Therefore, our determination to keep our freedom must be stronger than it has ever been. Tomorrow, as all Americans join, as one, to offer thanks for all we have won over the years, remember our proud heritage. all members of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing family, as well as to all military and civilian employees of Hill Air Force Base, best wishes for a happy and safe Thanksgiving. To -- s- DAVIS C. ROHR, Colonel, USAF Commander, 388 TFW to a had "recom- of day public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording an them opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness." Since that time, Thanksgiving Day has con- - As we sit down to our Thanksgiving dinner this year, we might add a small note of thanks to Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale. In 1827, she began a campaign for a national observance of This Thanksgiving. persistent woman, the editor of Ladie's Magazine in Boston, was to continue her efforts until 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln issued the first national Thanksgiving last setting Thursday aside in November as the nationwide Thanksgiving Day. SECURITY One of Mrs. Hale's last editorials in 1863, just before the Presidential Proclamation was issued, indicated that many Americans already Safeguard Classified Information We would do well to remind other of the first Presidential proclamation which called for "a day of public thanksgiving and prayer." We should also each Christian who observed the separatists first Thanksgiving Day and their trials and experiences. remember the 102 The Pilgrims had set sail in for the "New World" on the Mayflower hoping to settle down, build homes, educate their children and worship the Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences. The story of the Christian settlers at Plymouth, Mass. is a very important part of our nation's history. Most people are aware that the Pilgrims observed Thanksgiving. But few are really aware of their sufferings and what caused them to believe that they had so much for which they should thank God. According to Bradford's "History of the Plantation," an experiment in having to Mrs . Hale Proclamation, are a How do you approach and observe Thanksgiving Day? Is it just a day for eating a big, special meal? Or for watching the football games on TV? Or the parades? everything in common was disastrous . After two years of intense suffering and ap- parent failure, Governor Bradford saw that something must be done to correct the competition and individual profits. These are principals which have brought wealth, prosperity and individual situation. initiative to America. He gave every family its own plot of land, had every man responsible for the care, feeding and upkeep of his own We should give thanks to God this Thanksgiving for the family, and had each person economically independent. Governor Bradford said that it had been decided that "they should set corne, every man for his own particular needs. . . . this had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more was corn than planted otherwise would have been. . . the women went willingly into the field. . . and by the time harvest was come, instead of famine, now God gave them plenty, and the face of things was changed, to the rejoicing of the hearts of many, for which they blessed God." The first Thanksgiving in America was, then, an expression of gratitude to God, not only for the bountiful harvest, but also for the understanding God gave them of His work and His ways. They had, without realizing it, set America on its way to being set up in accordance with scriptural principals and started the country on its way to private ownership of property, private enterprise, lessons learned from the experiences and witness of our forefathers. We should give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy and so often take for granted since they are so easily available to us today. We should give thanks for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have sacrificed to make America what it is today. Let us stop and thank God for the land of freedom and plenty which He has blessed us with. ... "A land in which we eat bread without scarceness. . ." (Deut. 8:91). We should heed the warning of Moses: "Beware, lest thou forget the Lord thy God. . . and say in thine heart, my power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: For it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth. (Deut. 8:11, ..." 17-18- ). May God continue to bless us in America and may we give Him the thanks for all not at things, only Thanksgiving time, but always. (LOGNEWS) Holi&ciii 1U the fro) tinued to be observed in America, but on various days. It is now observed on the fourth Thursday in November, but still by an annual Presidential proclamation. 1620 proclamation setting aside Each year at this time we pause to remember our heritage and to give thanks for the way of life we enjoy. We in the United States Air Force should . be especially appreciative of the opportunity we have to protect and defend our ran lmm Thanksgiving day: were celebrating on the same "For the last or years the States have made approaches to this unity. In 1859, 12 30 States held 14 their Thanksgiving festival on the same day the last Thursday in November. It was also Everything advertised in this publication must be made available for purchase use or patronage without regard to the race, creed, color, national origin or sex of the purchaser, user, or patron. celebrated that year on board several of the American fleets ships in the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and on the Brazil Station; by the Americans in Berlin at our Prussian Embassy; in Paris and in Switzerland." lQ DL L time. II " This determined lady wrote to the governors of States and to U.S, presidents for almost four decades. Then on Oct. 3, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Presidential Proclamation which established in the United States a national day of Thanksgiving, observed to the present Til 1 1 ffl i That proclamation read in part, "The year that is drawing to its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these beauties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of almighty God." vmm urn mm IS WHAT aflc fS All ABOUT ! or net of information confirmed violation or rejection of this policy of an advertiser will equal result in the refusal to print advertising from that source. opportunities by Mor Media Sales, Inc., telephone Ogden, Salt Lake City, Sorry, classifieds by mail only : P.O. Box 16133. Salt Lake City, Utah 84116 A 394-965- 5; 277-46- 50 |