the best thanksgiving.pdf

7/29/2019 The Best Thanksgiving.pdf

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by Carolyn Clark

illustrated by Craig Spearing

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2

Josh came in, shut the door noisily behindhim, and slammed his books down on the

kitchen table.

“What’s wrong?” Dad asked.

“We worked on family trees in social

studies today. Jamal’s great-uncle was MartinLuther King, Jr., and Ashley is related to

George Washington. Nobody was famous in

our family.”

“You’re right. I don’t know of anybody

famous,” Dad replied, “but there is a storythat I think is very interesting.”



3

“My great-grandmother, your great-great-grandmother, Maggie Davis, was one of the

first settlers in what is now the state of

Nebraska. Her family went there around

1850, when she was just about your age,”

Dad explained.“That won’t mean anything to the other

kids,” Josh sighed. “Nobody’s ever heard of

her.”

Dad smiled. “You can tell them a lot about

her. She kept a journal about her family’s lifeon the Nebraska prairie.”



4

“A journal?” Josh perked up a little.

“Where is it?”

“Your grandma has Maggie’s original

journal. She made copies for everyone in the

family a few years ago. After dinner tonight,

I’ll look for our copy. We can read it at

bedtime.”

“OK,” said Josh. He started his homework

while Dad made dinner.

After they had eaten, Dad found the

journal. At bedtime, Dad sat beside Josh’s bed

and opened it.



5

Just after sunrise, November 21, 1850

Morning! I am still in bed. Winter is coming,

and it is getting cold. Lizzie is still sleeping. So is

Baby Nate. Mama is outside helping Papa get

ready to go to Ft. Kearney for supplies. He says it

is urgent. The trails won’t be passable once the

snow comes. It will take him two days to get

there and four to get back. He has to walk back

so the mule can carry the supplies.



6

“Why didn’t her dad just take the car?”

Josh asked. “I bet he could drive there faster.”

“They didn’t have cars in 1850,” Dad

explained.

“Then how did they get to Nebraska? On

a train?” asked Josh.

“No trains, either.” Dad said. “Maggie and

her family traveled in a covered wagon pulled

by mules.”

“How fast could mules go?”

“From what I’ve read, about 15 or 20 miles

a day,” Dad replied. “A car can go that far in

less than half an hour!”



7

“Wow!” exclaimed Josh. “It must have

taken forever.”

Dad nodded. “They went from St. Louis,

Missouri, to central Nebraska. Today, that

would take one long day by car. It took the

Davises weeks.”

“Let’s keep reading!” said Josh.

Just before sundown, the same day

It feels as if Papa’s been gone forever. We were

very busy today. Lizzie and I helped Mama feed

the animals. Then we helped her clean.



Papa says our house is made from “Nebraska

marble.” It’s really made out of sod. Sod is dirt and grass. There are not many trees on the

prairie, only grass, brambles, and dirt. Sod is

about the only thing to build a house with. We

built the house ourselves. Well, Papa and Mama

built it mostly. Lizzie and I helped. I miss our house in St. Louis. It was a REAL house. It was

made from wood, with wood floors, a fence, and

flowers. Mama says we’ll have flowers next year.

The sun is down. It’s bedtime.

8



“Why did Maggie go to bed when the sun

went down?” Josh asked. “Couldn’t she just

turn on the lights?” He thought for a minute.

“I guess there were no lights, huh?”

“Maggie would have had light from the

fire,” said Dad, “and maybe from some

candles. It’s hard to do much by that kind of

light, though. Remember when our lights

went out?”

“Yes!” Josh exclaimed. “It was hard to see

anything at all.”

“Speaking of lights out,” Dad said, “it’s

time for you to go to sleep.”

9



10

The next night, Dad opened the journal

again.

Late afternoon, November 23, 1850

Papa has been gone three days. We had

school this morning. Mama teaches Lizzie and

me reading from a newspaper she brought from

St. Louis. She had to leave all her books there

because they were too heavy to take with us.

Mama really misses her books. She loves reading.



11

After school, Mama put Nate on her back. We

went out to pick up buffalo chips. We burn them

in the fire. Mama said we had better pick up all

we can because she didn’t like the look of those

dark clouds from the north. We filled up the

wheelbarrow. Then we tied up our aprons and

filled those up, too. Mama thinks a snowstorm is

coming.

“Please keep reading, Dad!” Josh said

when his dad stopped. “We have to know

what happens next!”



12

Afternoon (I think), November 25, 1850

Mama was right. It has been snowing for two

days. It is snowing so hard you can’t see anything

but white. Mama went out to tend the animals.

The wind was blowing so hard that when she

came back, we could hardly shut the door. Mama

said we must have school, as usual. Then Mama

sang songs with us. It almost made me forget

Papa. How can he get home in this?



13

Early morning, November 26, 1850

There is still no sign of Papa, only snow and

more snow. The wind howled around the house

all night. We couldn’t sleep. Lizzie thought thehowling was a pack of wolves. She was crying

and howling herself until Mama said, “That’s

enough, Lizzie. Let’s have a play party!” Mama

played as though she was a fiddler and sang

songs. Lizzie and I danced around with eachother and with the baby.



14

Afternoon, November 27, 1850

The wind has died down and the snow has

stopped. Papa is still not here. We had school,

and then Mama told us fairy tales. They areabout things that can’t really happen. Then she

let us polish her silver spoons. She brought them

from St. Louis. Mama tries hard to keep our

minds off Papa, but I know she is worried, too.

“What happened next?” asked Josh.



15

Just before sundown, November 28, 1850

Last night there was a big ruckus outside. We

heard horses stamping and men’s voices. It was

Papa! When he opened the door, we ran into his

outstretched arms. He was weary but in good

shape. A colonel and two soldiers from the fort

had come with him. Our mule had hurt its leg.

The colonel said they couldn’t let Papa go out in

a storm with only a poor, stumbling mule. They

loaned him horses and said he could come back

for the mule in the spring.



16

Papa brought buffalo meat and other food for

the whole winter. Today is Thanksgiving, so

Mama made a special meal. We ate with our

family and our guests. I was thankful for all the

food. I was even more thankful that Papa was home safe. This was the best Thanksgiving ever.

“Wow!” Josh sighed. “I’m really thankful

that the Davises are in my family! Wait until I

tell the kids at school!Dad just smiled and kissed Josh goodnight.



1 Which characters in the story are from the

past? Which are from the present? How do you know?2 How would you summarize the story?3 What does Josh learn about his ancestors

that he can share with his classmates?4 What did you learn about pioneer life from

reading this story?5 Compare your house with the house where

Maggie lived. How is it the same? How is itdifferent?6 Would you like to have been a pioneer in

1850? Why or why not?

Report Use your school library to researchmore about pioneer life. Write a report on your

findings, and share it with your classmates.

Think and Respond

School-Home Connection Ask older family

members about your family history. Tape-

record their stories, and play them for the rest

of the family. You might hear some very

interesting stories!

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