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New Woodlands FROM THE LAND At some point during the party, Massasoit, the leader of the Wampanoag tribe, arrived with 90 men and five freshly killed deer. Venison was OF THANKSGIVING AND TURKEYS a favored meat for both cultures. For the middle- class English Puritans, it was a forbidden food to all but the landed gentry in Britain, so eating it felt special. For the Wampanoag, deer was cen- By JEAN CRUM JONES tral to life. Taking it to the settlers was a sign of hanksgiving is America’s quintessential respect. The feasting went on for three days. holiday centered around family gather- Not from Turkey (the Country) Tings and elaborate home-cooked feasts. 1621 Crowning most American celebrations is a Harvest meal in Plymouth, Massachusetts, when Turkeys, though native to North America, big, plump turkey. But this bird may not the Pilgrims and Wampanoags feasted together. were already a familiar bird to the English. have made it to the table of the supposed 1636 Turkeys had been taken to England by way of very first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massa- Governor John Winthrop proclaimed a day of Spain in the early 1500s, after the Spanish chusetts, in 1621, when the Pilgrims and thanksgiving to celebrate the defeat of the Pequots. conquest of the Aztecs, and had become an Wampanoag natives feasted together. 1790s instant favorite. But the British thought at Wild turkeys lived in and around the In general, turkeys in this period weighed no more first that these domesticated imports came than eight pounds. woodlands there, but the Pilgrims were not from Turkey. They imported some of those yet proficient in capturing them. One early mid 1800s to the New World. English yeoman farmers settler wrote that a turkey “hath the use of As New England farms struggled, a movement to learned from the Native Americans how to preserve and glorify simple Yankee foods began. his long legs so ready that he can run as fast hunt the wild birds, and by the Revolution, as a dog and fly as well as a goose.” 1847 through 1863 the wild turkey had been almost eliminated Sarah Josepha Hale, a New Hampshire native, the Pushing the mythic mists aside, we find editor of Godey’sLady Book, a popular 19th-century from New England. the 1621 event wasn’t actually to give thanks magazine, lobbied hard for a national holiday. Fortunately, some interbreeding had been and that it was forgotten until 1840, when done between the wild birds and the domes- 1863 the historian Alexander Young read about it The year of the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln ticated colonial ones. The hybrids tended to in an old letter. Actually, soon after the 1621 established the national holiday on the last be larger, healthier, and more vigorous than meal, irreconcilable differences developed Thursday of November. the domestic English breeds were. In general, between these two cultures. But in his book From the 1800s through the 1960s turkeys in this period weighed no more than Chronicles of the Pilgrim Forefathers , Young Turkey farming became a profitable sideline for eight pounds. By the 1790s, the commercial- called the harvest event “the first Thanksgiv- many American farmers. ized farming of domestic turkeys had begun. ing” in a footnote. He speculated that the 1934 From the late 1600s to the late 1800s, gathering had eaten wild turkey. At the Jones farm in Shelton, Newell Jones raised New England farm families developed some This notation seems to be the origin of some turkeys until World War II; the Beardsley Farm did of the region’s signature culinary dishes and so until the 1950s. key elements in our American Thanksgiving perfected turkey roasting. These farmers story. For the English, the term Thanksgiving raised animals and valued flesh foods over meant, precisely,a solemn day of prayer and wor- vegetables. During the early and mid-1800s, American culture and agriculture. ship to thank God for a special providence. The when New England farms began succumb- In any case, our Thanksgiving Day was con- English at Plymouth recorded their first Thanks- ing to the economic dislocation of capital- structed from a 19th-century idea of a 1621 giving in 1623 when a drought ended; they did ism, a movement began to serve a Thanks- feast. It did take place in Plymouth and was prob- not mention food. In 1636, Governor John giving meal to preserve and glorify their Winthrop proclaimed a day of thanksgiving later ably in October, after the colorful “Indian corn” simple Yankee foods and to exemplify their that year to celebrate the defeat of the Pequots harvest. It had been a very difficult first year for ancestors’ self-sufficient ways. near the Connecticut River. Later, after the dev- the English settlers. Their governor, William This movement was aided by the efforts of astating 1675 King Philip’s War broke apart the Bradford, sent four men to hunt for wild fowl for Sarah Josepha Hale, a New Hampshire Wampanoag people and their use of their home- a harvest celebration. “The four in a day killed as native, the editor of Godey’s Lady Book, a lands, the colonial government proclaimed a day much fowl as . served the company almost a popular 19th-century magazine. She lobbied of thanksgiving on June 20. It was tragic how the week,” penned Edward Winslow, who ate some hard from 1847 through 1863 for a national colonists’ insatiable land hunger destroyed Native of the abundant pheasants, geese, and ducks. holiday. President Lincoln became con- HOW TO FIND A HOMEGROWN CONNECTICUT TURKEY Because the broad-breasted white turkeys that make up about 99.9 percent of Check the Connecticut Department of Agriculture Web site or the buyctgrown.org supermarket turkeys have been engineered to grow quickly, they fail to put to locate Connecticut turkey farmers, but be advised that most Connecticut turkeys down a layer of fat. Commercial growers add flavor by injecting a liquid for 2010 have already been reserved. More good news is that the wild turkey has before they wrap it for sale . This lack of natural fat is also why cooks find so returned to Connecticut. In 1975, the Department of Environmental Protection many tedious recipes for brining turkey. released 22 wild turkeys from New York State into the northwestern part of Con- necticut. Since then, all of the towns in Connecticut report thriving populations of How much better to seek out locally grown turkeys or heritage breeds . In turkeys. It is estimated there are at least 30,000 turkeys residing in Connecticut recent years, Connecticut farmers have resumed raising turkeys. Most report now. The fall firearms hunting season for wild turkeys ends on October 30; archery they are having a difficult time keeping up with the demand. season continues on most state land until November 16. See www.ct.gov/dep for the hunting guide. 22 CONNECTICUT WOODLANDS Fall 2010 vinced that a Thanksgiving might unite the turkey farming became a profitable sideline tic turkey, probably Norfolk blacks, brought country. In 1863, the year of the Battle of for many American farmers. Turkeys were to this country by the English in the 1600s. Gettysburg, Lincoln established the national easy to raise because they ranged for insects All the popular Bronze breeds favored in holiday on the last Thursday of November. in the fields. At our farm in Shelton, after New England until the industrial turkey At that time, turkey was the most festive high school graduation in 1934, Newell takeover were descendants of the Narra- meat the average American family could put Jones annually raised a flock of about a hun- gansett. Sadly today, the Narragansett and on the table, especially as urban living took dred turkeys until he was drafted into World her descendants are all considered endan- hold. To demonstrate charity at Thanksgiv- War II. The neighboring Beardsley Farm was gered. Neither the Beardsleys nor the Joneses raise turkeys anymore. ing, the prosperous often distributed turkey noted for its fine turkeys until the 1950s. to workers or poor neighbors. Of course, In Connecticut and Rhode Island, the Jean Crum Jones, a registered dietitian, is a member everyone assumed turkey had been on the Narragansett turkey was very popular. It of the Connecticut Forest & Park Association Board of menu of that 1621 feast. descends from a cross between the native Directors. She and her husband, Terry, and their fam- From the 1800s through the 1960s, Eastern wild turkey and the English domes- ily, operate the Jones Family Farms in Shelton. Connwood Foresters, Inc. SINCE 1945 Forest Stewardship Plans Expert Witness Serv ices Property Tax Savings (PA490) Timber Sales & Appraisals Baseline Documentation Reports Boundary Location/Maintenance Tree Protection Plans Invasive Species Control Permit Acquisition GIS and GPS Mapping 860-349-9910 Foresters & Arborists In Central, Western and Eastern Connecticut CONNWOOD.COM WORKING WITH THE LAND Managing Land As a Renewable and Profitable Resource Ǡ Ecological Inventories Ǡ Wetlands Analysis Ǡ Forestry Ǡ Environmental Impact Studies Ǡ Easements & Estate Planning E E C OS Ecological and Environmental Consulting Services, Inc. O∞ces in Lyme and Norfolk, Connecticut. We provide informational interviews at no cost or obligation. For more information, call (860) 434-2390 or (860) 542-5569 or visit us at www.eecos.com Starling Childs, MFS ; Anthony Irving, MES Fall 2010 CONNECTICUT WOODLANDS 23.
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