Thanksgiving Statement By: GOVERNOR JEB BUSH

State of FL - www.myflorida.com ^ | Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, 2002 | FL Gov. Jeb Bush

[JoeSixPack1]

MOTION DENIED!

Happy Thanksgiving ALL !

[JoeSixPack1]

Happy Thanksgiving to you summer!

[JoeSixPack1]

Historian: Thanksgiving Began in Fla.
Thu Nov 28, 1:25 AM ET
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By RON WORD, Associated Press Writer

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP) - In Massachusetts, Michael Gannon says he is known as "the Grinch who stole Thanksgiving."

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Slideshow Slideshow: Thanksgiving Day

Gannon, a University of Florida history professor, insists it was a group of Spanish explorers and not the Pilgrims who first celebrated Thanksgiving in the New World. The date was Sept. 8, 1565 — in St. Augustine.

That's when Pedro Menendez de Aviles and 800 Spanish settlers, celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving and invited the native Seloy tribe who occupied the site, he said.

"It was the first community act of religion and Thanksgiving in the first permanent European settlement in the land," Gannon wrote in his 1965 book, "The Cross in the Sand." The Pilgrims didn't have their first Thanksgiving meal until 1621, 56 years later.

Menendez and his followers probably dined on cocido — a stew made from salted pork and garbanzo beans and laced with garlic seasoning — hard sea biscuits and red wine, said Gannon.

If the Seloy Indians contributed food, then the menu could have included wild turkey, venison, gopher tortoise, mullet, corn, beans and squash, Gannon said.

The first Thanksgiving is recounted by Gannon in "We Gather Together," an article published in this month's St. Augustine Catholic, the publication of the Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine.

The 1565 celebration wasn't even the first Thanksgiving, Gannon said. Numerous Thanksgivings for a safe voyage and landing had been made in Florida by such explorers as Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513 and 1521; Panfilo de Narvaez in 1528; Hernando de Soto in 1529; Father Luis Cancer de Barbastro in 1549; and Tristan de Luna in 1559.

The French, who came to the St. Johns River near Jacksonville in 1562 and Rene de Laudonniere in 1564, also offered prayers of Thanksgiving — well before the Pilgrims, Gannon said. And in Texas, some claim that Spanish explorer Don Juan de Onate celebrated the first Thanksgiving in America in 1598.

"By the time the Pilgrims came to Plymouth, St. Augustine was up for urban renewal," Gannon said.

So, if the Spanish were first, why do Pilgrims and Plymouth get all the credit?

"It is the victors who write the histories," Gannon said. "England won out over Spain for the mastery of the North American continent, so the early English ceremonies achieved wide currency in history books and eclipsed our knowledge of the earlier Spanish celebrations on Thanksgiving."

Kathleen Curtin, a spokeswoman for the Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass., said she has no arguments with anyone wanting to claim the first Thanksgiving on the North American continent and has no problem with Gannon's claim.

"They have a good leg to stand on," she said, adding that it was the American Indians who probably had the first Thanksgiving celebrations.

The museum's Web site states, "The event we now know as 'the First Thanksgiving' was in fact neither the first occurrence of our modern American holiday, nor was it even a 'Thanksgiving' in the eyes of the Pilgrims who celebrated it."

David Nolan, a writer and historian in St. Augustine, recalled the time in 1979 when he addressed the Florida Society of Mayflower Descendants in St. Augustine.

Nolan told the descendants that long before the Mayflower landed, St. Augustine was wrestling with the housing problems of royal officials, the marriage of the governor's son without permission and the arrest of French and English pirates.

"By the time the Pilgrims scraped together their meal, we were already so far advanced as to have housing, family, and law-and-order problems in Florida," Nolan said.

[snippy_about_it]

Happy Thanksgiving to you summer and a thank you again for the work you did here for Jeb's campaign.

[mafree]

Same to you and yours summer- GO JEB!!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

We now cherish our liberty even more dearly than before, and we honor even more highly the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform who are even now protecting our liberty both here and abroad. Above all, we give thanks for the precious gift of life itself, and I encourage all Floridians to recommit themselves to living lives filled with purpose.

Wow. Our Governor is a brave and decent man. Happy Thanksgiving, summer! I almost missed your post and Jeb's wonderful message. Thank you so much for pinging me and keeping the Florida Freepers close. Hugs. (^:

[floriduh voter]

Happy day after Thanksgiving. Everyone have a pleasant weekend. It's a little cold by my standards but I am still GLOATING and that keeps me warm. lol

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Hi, FV! Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving to you. Pasco County has a freeze warning out...ice on the oranges tonight. Hot cocoa goes well with gloating, I find. We need you healthy. (^:

[MeekOneGOP]

Happy day after Thanksgiving....

Happy (late) Thanksgiving to you too !

[TontoKowalski]

Happy (late) Thanksgiving, Summer, dear.

I've thought of you often since the election. Please accept my belated, but hearty, congratulations on the great victory in Florida!

You were right, all along. The election wasn't really that close, thanks in part to your tireless efforts on behalf of the Governor. I wonder how many people were moved by your wonderful essays, letters to the editor, and personal "evangelizing"... I'm sure it was more than you know.

I still think you need to find a job at the RNC!

[summer]

From Gov Bush's campaign web site:

Thanksgiving Message from Governor Jeb Bush

On this day of thanks, as we gather with friends and family to express our appreciation for our many blessings, let us not forget those who have less to be thankful for. And in doing so, let us remember the very spirit of this special holiday, recommitting ourselves to serve our neighbors, our community and State, and indeed our very nation, during times of need. Let our Thanksgiving prayers and blessings be said also for those whose loved ones are far away, on distant shores and in distant lands, fighting this very day against the enemies of freedom, so that our children, and our children's children, may live free.

Here in Florida, Columba and I are so thankful to our many friends and supporters for your hard work and dedication over the years. We feel blessed and honored for the opportunity to continue to serve the people of our state for another four years.

Columba and I wish you and yours a happy and warm Thanksgiving holiday. May God bless you, your family and the State of Florida.

[summer]

I still think you need to find a job at the RNC!

LOL! :)

Thanks so much for your kind words in your post, Tonto Kowalski. I appreciate your belief in me and fully respect your suggestion above, but I laugh because only recently did I realize what force motivated me here on FR -- and only recently did I realize the actual name of the team I was on for those 14 months prior to Gov Bush's landslide victory. Here's what I mean:

(1) I wasn't really on "Team GOP," because I'm not a Republican. (As you know, I'm a former Dem and now an independent.)

(2) I wasn't really on "Team Conservative" because while I do agree with conservatives on some issues, I can't say I fully agree with them on every issue, because I still don't know enough to say that.

(3) I wasn't on "Team JEB BUSH CAMPAIGN" because I didn't have anything to do with his official campaign.

(4) I wasn't on "Team Summer" because there was no promotion or prize I was seeking.

(5) But, there was a side I was on, and as I see it now, that side was called: GOOD. As I was telling someone just the other day, the force of GOOD is what motivated me after my email dialogue with Gov Bush, and my understanding re: his genuine desire to improve education for all and his record of achievement. And, he won the election. I always believed he deserved to win. In short: GOOD WON!

However, unfortunately, in this world, Team Good doesn't always win. But, I'm very happy when it does. :)

[summer]

RE your post #29 - LOL...Happy [belated] Thanksgiving to you, MeeknMing. :)

[summer]

...I am still GLOATING and that keeps me warm. lol

ROTFLMAO! :)

[summer]

Thanks so much for your nice post here on this thread. I hope you had a very happy Thanksgiving, RC. :)!

[summer]

Thanks, mafree. It's great to hear from you again! :)

[summer]

RE your post #24. My pleasure. And, I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday, snippy_about_it. :)

[summer]

Thanks so much for your informative post #23, JoeSixPack1. Also, see post #31. :)

[summer]

RE your post #22 - Thanks, Joe! I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday. :)

[summer]

RE your post #20 - A big BTTT. Hope you had a great holida, katherine is great. :)