Fourteen members enjoyed the program at the monthly meeting of the La Porte County Indiana Genealogical Society on November 8, 2016. The group met at the La Porte Park Department Headquarters.
After refreshments, the meeting continued with a program by the Patricia Gruse Harris, charter member of the society, author and historian.
Harris spoke of “Thanksgiving: Days of Thanks and Despair in Wartime.” Although the Pilgrims reportedly gave thanks for a bountiful harvest and the providence of God, other colonial groups and governments soon were thankful for victories over foes, including the French and Indians. Beginning with the first President of the Continental Congress (with the foe now the British), Presidential or legislative proclamations were numerous, but the date varied widely. A National Holiday was established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1941, fixing on the fourth Thursday in November.
The society will meet for a Christmas Program on December 13, 2016, at 6 PM. The venue will be Round the Clock restaurant, at 219 Pine Lake Avenue, La Porte. Members and guests must contact Patricia Harris by December 1. Her email is pagharris@sbcglobal.net or phone 219 872-3273.