Thanksgiving 1905

“It oft behooves a State, as well as an individual, to look at the past, that it may realize the mercies for which it has to be thankful, and to give expression to its gratitude by words and acts of praise.”

Thus begins Governor R.B. Glenn’s 1905 Thanksgiving Proclamation. It’s a rather long document, listing many things from the previous year for which North Carolinians should be thankful, including, “we have been blessed with fair crops, and prices for farm products have been above average,” “the settlement of our outstanding debt upon a just and honorable basis,” “no scourge of disease or pestilence has to any great extent visited our State,” and “temperance and sobriety in all things are being practiced by our citizens.”

In his closing, Governor Glenn asks that North Carolinians take Thanksgiving Day to gather, pray, rejoice, and, above all, “while enjoying this holiday, that they do nothing unworthy of the reputation of the State.”