I realize that this Now and Then column series that I engage in could be thought of in several ways. It could just mean something done occasionally. It could be comparing things in the present for how much better we have it than our folks had it back then. It could be comparing our situation now for how much better things used to be, back in the good ole days.
Of course, having lived through some of the good old days, as I remember they weren't all good. In fact there was quite a bit of bad to contend with back then, like world wars, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, and polio and diphtheria and flu epidemics and small pox. Remembering the realities, it is hard to keep sentimentalizing the past as good old days when everybody went to church, everybody was kind and helpful to their neighbors, nobody was mean, and families always prayed together and stayed together. No, it wasn't always like that, even way back then. But, back then, as now, life presents both blessings and trials. There are times that are beautiful, and there are times that are tough, and all times are helped when we the people are thankful and appreciative, both as we receive blessings and as we find resources to cope with the tough times.
One of the long-enduring traditions of the Autumn season is to observe a Harvest season and to celebrate it with thanksgiving. We in the United States often trace the origin of our Thanksgiving holiday back to the coming of the Pilgrims to this land in 1620, their beginning to put down roots in a new world, enduring and suffering through a hard, hard winter, then with the help of friendly Indian tribes, being able to produce a harvest of grain which gave them hope for the future. They celebrated their harvest time with feasting, singing, games and giving thanks to Almighty God. Of course, the Pilgrims' thanksgiving was not the beginning of times for giving thanks. As one reads through the Bible, with its stories of the Hebrew people in responding to the call of God through the ages, one reads of both great times of high achievements, and of great tragedies and trials, all sorts of human triumphs and failures, times of joy and times of mourning. But through it all, one of the great Biblical themes is the reminder to the people to always be thankful, to acknowledge and to appreciate their blessings and to rejoice in their caring and provident Creator.
Although harvest time has changed over the years in our part of Arkansas, I'm glad that we can still hold to some of the great old traditions that are part of thanksgiving. There was a time when the farms around Pea Ridge were general farms, somewhat self-sufficient and self-maintaining, where people raised much of the food they ate in their gardens and fields, canned and preserved their produce, picked corn, husked corn and shelled corn, hand cut their barley and wheat and oats with scythe or cradle, shocked the bundles in the field to dry, then threshed the grain and milled it for flour or ground it for feed for the cattle.
Farms had designated areas for pasture and hay, other areas for corn and grain crops, areas for garden and truck patch. People didn't expect to buy everything they needed at the store, they would produce much of what they needed to live on, to feed and clothe the family, and so on. Our farms in northwest Arkansas now have become more specialized: dairy farms with large milk-producing herds, cattle farms with fields devoted mostly to pasture and hay, poultry farms with vast poultry houses, and numerous small family acreages for families who appreciate the country life with animals and maybe horses. So the harvest season is not what it used to be. But we still need to give thanks for our blessings, even when our social and economic circumstances have changed, and even when we go through times that are worrisome and troubling.
Back in the old days, people used to be more likely to stay put in the communities where they were born and raised. I say that, even as we acknowledge that families had to be uprooted and to move if they were going to settle here in our part of the world. These days, very often our family members are spread to the four winds. But at Thanksgiving time, many of us look forward to "having the family in," to enjoy "catching up," to affirm our sense of togetherness, and to appreciate our opportunities and blessings as we live through the possibilities and challenges of our lives.
The Bible reminds us in all times and all seasons to remember to give thanks. Let us give thanks to the Lord and pray for our country, our leaders at every level and our people everywhere.
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Editor's note: Jerry Nichols, a native of Pea Ridge and an award-winning columnist, is vice president of Pea Ridge Historical Society. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected], or call 621-1621.
Editorial on 11/23/2016