With this background we can understand why they felt it a privilege to build and live in huts of mud and thatch, to till the ground with improvised tools, to hunt and fish for food and make almost everything they used in their daily life with their own hands. After they had passed through that first bitter winter, they planted their crops in the spring. A busy summer followed and the harvest was good. So, as fall came, it was natural for these people to set aside a day of Thanksgiving.

     As the years passed, the Pilgrims were joined by hundreds of others - all kinds of people, educated and illiterate, gentlemen and peasants, artisans and scholars - all in search of freedom.

     The colony grew and the villages became towns - all prospered. In the middle of the 17th century, the usual house had one or two rooms and a garret. The principal room was the "hall" - the main feature of which was the huge fireplace. This room served as a dining room, living room, kitchen and bedroom. The cooking was done in the fireplace. There was little or no chinaware - just wooden dishes and bowls. Illumination was supplied by pine-knots or mutton tallow candles and a tinderbox took the place of matches. Because of the difficulty in lighting a fire - it was almost a crime to let one go out.