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Show in these contests, which helped to make Thanksgiving day happy. Thanksgiving Spirit Abides. Changing years have brought changed customs, but the spirit of Thanksgiving Thanksgiv-ing still abides in the American heart, whatever the style of observance. In Indianapolis, as in other cities, scores of families are depending on the hotels and clubs to provide the Thanksgiving dinner, thus to ease the women of the household of the responsibilities. Hotel and club managers here say they are booked almost to capacity with table reservations calling for covers representing repre-senting 10, 12, 15 and 20 persons. In other words, the family is going to "dine out" and let mother's Thanksgiving Thanks-giving day be one of rejoicing, not drudgery. It would be impossible for all families fam-ilies to eat at hotels and clubs mothers moth-ers know that ! , You can't change a sentimental mother. The result Is that, in thousands of Instances, mother refuses to consider any other situation than that of having her children at home for Thanksgiving day dinner. Turkey may not be the crowning viand of the meal, for there still remain chicken, goose and duck to top the menu. Mother knows, too, of other morsels that are the delight of her children. Fact Is, folk, Thanksgiving day la just another Mothers' day 1 Indianapolis Indian-apolis News. Feast Ever Part of the-Spirit the-Spirit of Day The modern Thanksgiving day observance ob-servance Is so broad in Its contrast with pioneer days that there Is a smile iu the comparison. Comfort, luxury, organization mark the celebration of the event today. The Twentieth century cen-tury farmer produces his crops under Ideal conditions. He has no treaties ol peace to make with Indians In order to plant and cultivate his crops. In the diary of an old New Englander Is this line : "An Indian promise Is no more than to have a pigg by the talle," a sentiment born of difficulties with the savages. The Pilgrim fathers planted corn with seed In one hand and a rifle in the other. - Governor Wallace issued the first official Thanksgiving proclamation for Indiana, fixing the day for Thursday, November 28, 1839. No doubt there previously had been a general observance observ-ance of the harvest's bounties among the pioneers of the state, but that was promoted by the churches, not by official offi-cial designation of the day by the governor. gov-ernor. President Lincoln officially restored re-stored the day In 1863, the first national na-tional act of the kind since the administration admin-istration of President Madison. It Is pleasant to picture how the Hoosler pioneers observed the day unofficially hy "Harvest home" festivals In the churches, when prayer and thanksgiving thanksgiv-ing were the program of the wor sbipers. Early Indianapolis was built along AYhite river. Farms were cultivated in the surrounding territory, and a good harvest was the basis for rejoicing. Sometimes there was feasting, the original idea of George Washington not having lost its meaning to the pioneer. Men went forth to the woods to bring in wild turkeys and other game that was worthy of being the "piece de resistance" of a harvest- festival fes-tival dinner. Evolution of Today's Turkey. Families gathered around tables piled high with wild turkey, venison, squirrel and other meats of the forest. Apples and the native nuts were spread In plenty over the house, and the men. If they were so inclined and they usually were took a nip from friendly jugs just to add enthusiasm to the day. Sweet cider had a habit of becoming be-coming jubilantly hard about the middle mid-dle or last of November, and this, too, played a' part in the merrymaking. When the wild turkey became extinct, ex-tinct, the domestic bird, now a national na-tional favorite in Thanksgiving feasts, found way to popularity. There Is an impression that America Imported the present species of turkey from Europe, hut the fact is just the reverse. American Amer-ican turkeys were introduced first in Spain three centuries ago, and through processes of cross-breeding the present pres-ent delight of America's Thanksgiving day was evolved. Poultry raisers express the fear that unless the government experts at Washington, who are working on thy problem, discover methods whereby domestic turkeys may be fortified against disease and proneness to die under adverse weather conditions, it will not be many years before turkeys will go the way of the dodo bird become be-come extinct. Farmwives, in many parts of the country, do not attempt to raise turkeys because of the prevalence or disease known as blackhead and timberneck. The government's experts are exerting every effort to find cures for these diseases, but complete success suc-cess has not yet been attained, although al-though a few remedies have been found fairly successful. Heavy rains are hard on baby turkeys, which drown easily. Turkey Supply Falling Off. The result of these failures in turkey-raising has been a greatly diminished dimin-ished production, and, of course, prices soar in consequence. Southern Indiana, In-diana, Kentucky and Tennessee, in the last several years, have been showing Increased production In turkeys. Most of the birds that find way to the metropolitan met-ropolitan markets are from Texas and other Southwestern states, where the climate is right and there is plenty of room for range. New England states, original home of the American turkey, do not now produce enough birds to supply the demand for the metropolitan metropoli-tan markets, although every hotel in New York, Boston and Philadelphia announces on the bill of fare, "Vermont "Ver-mont turkey," or "Rhode Island turkey." tur-key." The storage houses are filled with dressed turkeys that have journeyed jour-neyed out of the West, south and Southwest to make Thanksgiving a day of feasting for metropolitan epicures. epi-cures. America's Thanksgiving dinner has, in the last twenty years, become a sort of International banquet. The turkey is a United States institution, but one finds on the table now Irish potatoes a la Hollandaise, or Spanish style; vegetables vege-tables from the Imperial valley of Mexico, figs from Egypt, nuts and coffee from Brazil, almonds from Italy, grapefruit from Porto Rico, French pastry and perhaps Turkish cigarettes. Thanksgiving day amusements have undergone as great changes as the bill of fare. The observance, as originally planned by the forefathers, called for attendance at church and an outpouring outpour-ing of gratitude for health and bountiful bounti-ful harvests. The Puritans held it to be a day of Sabbathlike sanctity. As the years rolled on, the element of rejoicing re-joicing entered into the spirit of the day, and, after church in the forenoos and a feast at noon, the men engaged in mirthful games and banter, while the women sat around the "settin' room" and gossiped of affairs that held their Interest. In the country communities com-munities there were games of horseshoe horse-shoe pitching, hop-skip-and-jump,' footraces foot-races and wrestling matches. Men of the neighborhood vied with each other |