er ema i ——— a Dallas Kiwanis Women The Pilgrim Women who prepar- ed their first Thanksgiving in the new land felt no more enthusiasm for their task than the Dallas Kiwanis Women as they go about their yearly task of purchasing supplies and whipping together a holiday feast for the needy families of the Back Mountain. From twenty to thirty baskets will be packed with all sorts of goodies ranging from the turkey and all the trimmings to dessert with fruit and candy treats tucked in. Into each assortment, earmark- ed according to family members, will go a touch of concern for theless fortunate and the best wishes of those who serve on this very worth- while committee. Someone’s kitchen will resemble a miniature grocery at one of the busiest times of the year and the friendly air of sharing with others will enliven the chit chat of the ladies engrossed in their task. For eighteen years, the Dallas Kiwanis Women have set aside special funds to make an otherwise drab day a glad occasion and the satisfaction of giving to others has proven such a rewarding endeavor that, as each member sits down to enjoy her own dinner with family or friends, the thought ofthosewho likewise share casts a rosy glow of happiness indeed about that festive board. During Christmas week, the Dallas Kiwanis Women will play Santa to a family deemed most worthy and a check will be given where it is most needed to brighten the favorite day of all the year for some little ones who might have been disappointed that morning, another neighborly gesture of a friendly organization. Mrs. Fredric W. Anderson Thanksgiving We often find ourselves grouping together such words as “‘suffering and death,” ‘“‘conflict and cour- age,” “faith and hope,” “friendship and peace.” We know that pro- found suffering confronts us with a vision of death; in the face of con- flict we seek courage; wherever we discover faith we find hope; a deep- ening friendship leads to acceptance and peace. On the eve of Thanksgiving we might well express ourselves through “love and gratitude.” As we select these words and ponder their proper order, we insist that love must come first. Gratitude is prompted by love, the love of family, the love of friends, the love of God. Whenever we are able to accept love we find ourselves being moved to an expression of grati- tude; and the expression of grati- tude is prompted within us because we ourselves are able to accept as well as express love. As parents we realize the im- portance of teaching our children to say “thank you.” Let us help them to understand that the highest expression of thanks giving is the gratitude involved in both the giv- ing and receiving of love. M. Richard Bevan Huntsville Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) « Three hundred and forty four years ago, the men and women of Plymouth Colony, who endured hunger, thirst, cold, toil, hardships and peril on the sands and in the field of their new home, thanked God for their first harvest. For the American people today, Thanksgiving has come to mean a long weekend, proclamations about prosperity, the gathering of the family clan, a feast of turkey, vegetables, cranberries, nuts, fruit and pumpkin pie. Then, in a festive spirit we gather around the tele vision set and watch the big foot- ball game. For all of us it was a great day. What all this has to do with giving thanks to the Heavenly Father is not quite clear. The citizenry in- creasingly resists the idea that Thanksgiving should bea religious occasion. Our culture accepts it rather as a pleasant interlude between the sea- sons of leaf raking and snow shoveling. This year, before we carve the turkey let’s count our blessings big and small, give thanks humbly for what we have and what we are. It is an old American custom, and a good one. Let us givethanks for America, and those who found this land. For freedom. For re ligious freedom. For the faces of little children. For the bountiful harvest to supply our needs. For progress in medicine and science. Let us give thanks for the dream each of us carries in his heart and mind. This Thanksgiving let us give thanks that we live in the present — a time of turbulence and change and struggle and excitement — for the present is always more adven- turous than the past. Let us give thanks to God not only when words of thanks cross our lips, but when we seek to find ways to do something for Him. He has given us the clue, “What- soever ye do for the least of these my brethern you have done it unto me.” Rev. Andrew Pillarella Trinity United Presbyterian Church Thoughts Are we thankful enough these days to put our hands to the tasks of life with grateful hearts? Much is required of us; yet God gives strength and hope to those who live gratefully in His service. For gratitude leads to happiness and joy. It helps one to love his church, his friends, and life itself. It leads one to God. How we ought to lift our spirits to Him during these somber days, grateful for His mercy and forgiveness, His con- stant help and companionship! Have you ever considered how empty life would be if we didn’t have friends and loved ones and God to thank for all we enjoy? Rossetti once said bitterly that the worst moment for the unbeliever is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank. Well can we say with Paul: “I am debtor to the Greeks and to the Barbarians, both to the wise and the unwise.” Being thankful, we are called upon to create joy and the good life for others. There is a lovely story in the Talmud of an old man planting a tree. “Do you expect to live long enough to enjoy the fruit of the tree?’ a friend asked. “All my life,” he replied, “I have been enjoying the fruit of trees planted by those now dead. Should I not in turn plant for the benefit of those who will be here long after I am here no more?’ That spirit will enoble our hearts and save our world. It will enable us to sing “Rejoice, ye pure in heart, Rejoice, give thanks and sing; Your glorious banner wave on high, The cross of Christ, your King.” Rev. Robert DeWitt Yost Shavertown Methodist Church_ | | Then get there by Long Distance Telephone! It’s the next best thing to being there. COMMONWEALTH | © TELEPHONE CO. will wash the dishes? Those big family meals are wonderful —but oh, that pile of dirty dishes! An electric dishwasher gives time for The whole family shares this gift of less work and more fun for every- body. So don’t draw straws — let Reddy Kilowatt wash the dishes this year and sit back and relax! more family fun. Why not make it a family gift? Harveys Lake Light Co. “Serving the Back Mountain Area Since 1922" CHURCH STREET, DALLAS Vo ~ &)) I 1
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers