ACH Study Groups
Ben & Fran Gilmore – Cofounders
7659 Gingerblossom Drive
Citrus Heights, CA 95621
916-722-2501 histbuff@garlic.com
www.ACHStudyGroups.com
November 6, 2019
This is a letter to our friends –
Traditions worth keeping
Each year about this time, we post a copy of the poem, ” Pilgrim Fathers” by the late Larry Wagner. This heart-touching text teaches important history to kids (and their parents). It is a great tradition to have read at the Thanksgiving table. If you can gather small seashells to hold 5 cornels of corn at each place it adds to the impact. – –
Pilgrim Fathers
By Larry Wagner
November 1984
The second harvest gathered since they crossed Atlantic waters,
A feast of thankfulness was set by grateful Pilgrim Fathers:
So great the providence of God, so blest with fruit their labors,
So sweet the bond among their band, such peace with Indian neighbors.
But most among the feasting crowd could count harsh years of toil.
Of wand’ring for their faith in God, of want on alien soil,
Of flagging hopes and faith, bad health, of chills that hell could send.
Of half their number that had died before first winter’s end.
Of hunger pangs that second year in their New Plymouth home,
Of weeks when all they ate a day was five small grains of corn.
A few remembered treasures lost, titles cast aside,
But all could measure conscience cost in tears and trampled pride.
Oh, at this feast could they foresee their blessed future years?
That nevermore would they know want, nor run from any fears!
Then after prayers of gratitude, before the feast was set,
Each plate was served five grains of corn, lest anyone forget!
A noble band in hardship born, rejected by their own,
A rock flung o’re the ocean, they were laid a corner stone.
By them God stamped His pattern for a nation on the land,
And seeds for freedom under God were planted by their hand.
Oh, pray their heirs would ever know how dear was freedom’s cost,
And know to hold their faith and freedom dear, or see them lost,
And praise the Providence that brought those Pilgrims to this shore,
And eat the grains of memory, or pay the price once more.
Another Gilmore tradition is the Bonfire and Christmas Sing-along at our son’s home. Guy & Linda mailed the following open invitation. This is truly a wonderful evet. Please mark your calendars and join us if you can.
Please Join Us
For: The Gilmores’ 26th Annual Bonfire & Christmas Carol Sing-along
Where: 389 Gold Hill Rd. Newcastle, CA 95658
When: Sat Dec 14th at 7:00 P.M.
What to bring: A snack to share, chairs, a flashlight, warm clothes, and a friend or neighbor.
RSVP for directions
Guy (916) 899-7770
or
Linda (916) 899-4535
Hope you can join us as we celebrate Jesus’ birth. _
(The true meaning of Christmas)_
These columns are archived since 12/10/09
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“Ben’s Blog”
