Vintage Thanksgiving Customs to Revive This Holiday Season

 

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Thanksgiving has always been a time for gathering, gratitude, and giving, but what happened after the feast in years gone by? In an era before smartphones and streaming, families and communities celebrated the post-Thanksgiving hours with traditions that brought them closer together. Reviving these charming customs can add a vintage twist to your modern Thanksgiving and keep the holiday spirit alive long after the dishes are done.

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Pie Socials with Neighbors

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, post-Thanksgiving evenings were often spent visiting neighbors for "pie socials." Families would bring their leftover desserts to share while catching up with friends. It was a relaxed and delicious way to wind down the holiday.

How could you revive it?  Host a mini pie party with leftover slices, or turn it into a potluck dessert swap. Light some candles, play vintage music, and enjoy the cozy vibes.

Storytelling by the Fire

Before television, families gathered by the fireplace to share stories. Elders would recount tales from their youth, and children would chime in with their own whimsical creations. These sessions were rich with laughter, learning, and love.

How could you revive it?  Set up a storytelling circle with family or friends. Ask older family members to share their Thanksgiving memories, or take turns creating a collaborative story.

Leftover Feasts

Late-night snacks were a beloved tradition. Families would gather for a second, smaller meal of turkey sandwiches, pickles, and pies. These impromptu feasts were about savoring the holiday flavors one last time.

How could you revive it?  Take leftovers to work or school, or even better, take a picnic lunch with friends and family to the cemetery.  You can visit and celebrate with your loved ones there too, both past and present. 

Thanksgiving Scrapbooking

Victorian families loved creating keepsakes of their holidays. They often documented Thanksgiving by pressing autumn leaves, writing reflections, or sketching scenes from the day.

How could you revive it?  Start a Thanksgiving scrapbook. Collect mementos like photos, pressed leaves, or handwritten notes of gratitude from family members. Add to it each year for a cherished family heirloom.

The days after Thanksgiving can be used by embracing vintage customs that make the holiday even more meaningful. By revisiting these nostalgic traditions, you can create a warm, connected, and memorable experience for everyone around you

What are your favorite post-Thanksgiving traditions? Share in the comments, and don’t forget to pin this post for inspiration next year!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Alfred Scott (1881-1906) - Phoenix Indian School Student

 

PCA Archives

Alfred Scott was born about 1881 in California.  His records at Phoenix Indian School list him as a ‘Mission’ Indian, probably Luiseño.

Opened in 1890, the Phoenix Indian School was intended to function as a residential industrial school and to teach Native American teens and young adults useful occupations such as carpentry, animal husbandry and the domestic arts--sewing, cooking, nursing.  In time, its dormitories housed a total of about 700 pupils from 35 different tribes, including some advanced students from other Western states.

The school was designed to be a self-sufficient as possible.  Vegetables were raised in the gardens.  Male students tended the cows in the dairy and made the furniture used in the classrooms and dormitories.  Female students sewed school uniforms and practiced some native crafts such as basket-weaving.

In addition to classes in occupational skills, the school had an academic curriculum similar to that taught in the average high school of the time.  Many of the teachers were themselves Native Americans from tribes elsewhere in the United States, on the theory that they would serve as relatable role models. The school newspaper was produced in the campus print shop, and the school’s military drill team, marching band and football and baseball teams were highly regarded.  Each fall, students participated in the annual territorial fair, exhibiting handicrafts and taking part in horse races and foot races.

Alfred Scott played left outfield on the school’s baseball team in 1901.  In 1904, he gave a declamation entitled “The Road to Placerville”, from Mark Twain’s book Roughing it, at a literary night performance.

On 1905, Alfred married an Anglo schoolteacher, Mae Glase, in Los Angeles, California.  They had met while Miss Glase was teaching at the Phoenix Indian School.  After the wedding, the young couple moved to Fort McDowell, where Mae taught elementary school.

Tragically, Alfred was already suffering from tuberculosis and died less than a year later on 10 April 1906.  He was buried in Rosedale Cemetery, and his widow had a red sandstone monument placed on his grave.

Mae Glase Scott eventually moved to Murray, Utah, where she was employed for 33 years as a schoolteacher and principal.  She died in Seattle in 1951.

-by Donna Carr

Giving Tuesday - December 3, 2024

Mark the date - December 3! Giving Tuesday is approaching! Please consider us when donating to your favorite charities. We are an all-volunteer organization and 100% of your donations go to preserving these historic cemeteries and their history. Thank you for being our valued members and friends!

USDA Military Veteran Gravesite Cleanup Project - Recognizing Our Beloved Military Pioneers

Last Saturday, the USDA Military Veteran Gravesite Cleanup Project volunteered their time to clean military markers.  This is a national volunteer effort by the USDA and their employees to show support of veterans.  The group cleaned various areas in Porter Cemetery.  It looks amazing!  Thank you, USDA, for coming by!

 

Edna Hillman (1891-1912) - Maidu Schoolgirl

 

Photo of a Maidu family, 1906 (William Thunen, photographer)

LCCN 2020635536

Edna Hillman was born around 1891 in Greenville, California, to George and Maggie Hillman.  She is known to have had two brothers. 

Government and school records describe Edna as a full-blood Digger Indian.  That was a somewhat pejorative term applied to many tribes that lived in the Great Basin regions of Utah, Nevada and northern California. The area around Greenville was home to the Maidu tribe, so it is likely that she was Maidu. 

The Maidu were hunter-gatherers who typically lived in dugouts and subsisted on acorns, game, seeds and edible roots, hence the name.  During the Gold Rush years, the Maidu were dispossessed of their lands and decimated by diseases to which they had no immunity.

Her parents having died, Edna was enrolled in a boarding school in California in 1897.  She was a Methodist; it is not known whether that was by choice or because the school that took her in happened to be Methodist.

By all accounts, Edna was a good student.  Since she was 19 and an orphan, she herself signed the permissions to attend Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania for five years.  A Carlisle trade school education was the best available to Native Americans of the turn of the century.  Edna’s classes would probably have focused on practical skills such as cooking, sewing and nursing. 

When Edna arrived at Carlisle on October 9, 1910, she was 5 feet 1 inch tall and weighed 133 pounds. However, she entered the school’s hospital in August 1911, where she was diagnosed with tuberculosis. 

Her medical records show what she was fed.  She was sometimes nauseous and often refused the milk and eggnog that was pressed upon her (many Native Americans are lactose-intolerant).

By November 1911, Edna was failing rapidly.  Having no family left in California to care for her, she asked to be sent to a government sanitarium in Phoenix.  She left the school on December 11 but, by the time she reached Phoenix, it was clear that she was too far gone to recover.  She died on January 22, 1912, and was buried in Rosedale Cemetery.

-by Donna Carr

Thank You for Coming! - Annual PCA Holiday Party 2024

Thank you for coming to the Annual Holiday Party 2024!  

We loved seeing you all!

Annual Holiday Party - See You There!

 

Burial Practices of Indigenous Peoples

 

A Tribe Burial, Library of Congress

Traditional burial practices of Indigenous peoples in Arizona vary greatly depending on the specific tribe, as each has its unique cultural and spiritual beliefs surrounding death and the afterlife. Here are some examples of traditional burial practices for tribes historically and currently in Arizona.  This certainly is not an exhaustive list.

Hohokam

The ancient Hohokam practiced both cremation and burial in the ground. Cremated remains were often placed in pottery vessels or pits and buried, sometimes alongside offerings like tools, jewelry, or food.

Akimel O'odham (Pima)

The Akimel O'odham typically practiced cremation, believing that fire purified the soul and helped it transition to the afterlife. After cremation, the remains were placed in a pot or urn and buried. Personal items of the deceased, such as tools or clothing, were also burned or buried to accompany them in the next life.

Tohono O'odham

The Tohono O'odham traditionally practiced inhumation. The deceased were buried in a seated position, often wrapped in blankets or cloth. Graves were usually dug in remote locations, and offerings such as food, tools, or personal items were included to assist the deceased in their spiritual journey. Family members performed rituals to honor the deceased and ensure their peaceful transition to the afterlife.

Piipaash (Maricopa)

The Piipaash also practiced cremation, similar to the Akimel O'odham, with personal items often burned along with the body or buried nearby. Their ceremonies included rituals to purify the spirit and protect the living from the deceased's spirit lingering too close.

Yavapai

The Yavapai traditionally buried their dead in the ground, often in locations close to nature, such as caves or under trees. They believed that the soul would return to nature. Like other tribes, the deceased were buried with personal items that were believed to aid their journey in the afterlife.

Common Themes Across Tribes

Burial locations often held significance, such as being near water, under trees, or in caves, symbolizing a return to nature. Many tribes included personal items or offerings to assist the deceased on their journey or in their next life. Rituals and ceremonies often focused on purifying the soul, guiding it to the afterlife, and protecting the living from spirits. Many tribes would avoid or abandon places associated with death, reflecting a reverence for the power of spirits and the need to respect the deceased.

These practices have evolved over time due to changes and external influences.  However, many Indigenous communities in Arizona continue to honor their traditional beliefs and incorporate them into modern practices where possible.

 

Thank You Veterans for Your Service!

 

Emma Burrows French (1885-1911) - San Carlos Mohave

Stock photo of Mohave mother and child, ca. 1900.

Wikimedia

Emma Burrows was born around 1885.  She was a member of the San Carlos Mohave (Yuman) tribe.  Her maiden name appears in the written record as Burrows, Burroughs and Burris.

She graduated from the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania in 1906.  On 7 August 1907, she married William French, a Salt River Maricopa who had been a student at the Phoenix Indian School.  Witnesses to the marriage were William’s brother Clarence and a woman named Ossie Mollie.

Emma’s first child, a girl, was born 22 July 1908 but died 11 May 1909 of whooping cough and lobar pneumonia.  The Frenches were living at 231 North 2^nd Street at the time.

On 4 December 1909, Emma gave birth to a boy, William.  However, he too died on 13 April 1911 of pulmonary tuberculosis.  Both children were buried in Rosedale Cemetery in Phoenix.  When little William expired, the family was residing at 918 East Jefferson Street in Phoenix.

By May 1911, Emma herself was in the last stages of pulmonary tuberculosis.  She was taken to Fort McDowell, possibly for medical care, and died there on 14 May.  She was buried in Rosedale, presumably near her children.

William French remained a widower for more than two years, after which he married Ada Quorah (Cora) and fathered seven more children.

-by Donna Carr

Indigenous Architectural Influences: Arizona Biltmore's Pueblo Deco Design

 

Arizona Biltmore

Library of Congress

Phoenix is home to examples of Pueblo Deco architecture, a style that blends Art Deco with Indigenous Puebloan design elements. The Arizona Biltmore Hotel, constructed in 1929, is a prominent example.  Inspired by the geometric patterns of Indigenous Pueblo art and motifs, McArthur and Wright incorporated what became known as "Biltmore Blocks." These blocks, made from desert sand and bearing stylized patterns, reflect the Southwest’s Indigenous heritage and the natural beauty of the desert

These sites exemplify how Indigenous cultural influences are integrated into Phoenix's architectural landscape, celebrating the traditions and contributions of these
communities in the region.

 

Laura Long Cochran (1871-1899) - Matron at Phoenix Indian School

 

Arizona Memory Project - Main Building Behind School, 1900

Laura Long was born on September 11, 1871, in Kansas.  She was the daughter of Isaac Zane Long, a prominent member of the Wyandotte Nation, and Catherine McConnell.  Her father Isaac is thought to have been a descendant of the famous frontiersman Isaac Zane and his wife of the Wyandotte Nation, Myeerah. Born in Zanesfield, Ohio, Isaac went west when the remnants of the Wyandotte tribe were removed to reservations in Kansas around 1843.

Even though school records list Laura as being only one-sixteenth Wyandotte, she seems to have been regarded as Native American throughout her life.  In 1891, she was working and going to school at the Quapaw-Wyandotte Indian School in Seneca, Kansas.  Thereafter, she attended Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, from which she graduated in 1895.  By 1896, she was employed as a matron at the Phoenix Indian School.

Opened in 1891, the Phoenix Indian School was intended to function as a residential industrial school, training Native American teens and young adults in useful occupations such as carpentry, animal husbandry and the domestic art, such as sewing, cooking, nursing.  In time, its dormitories housed a total of about 700 pupils from 35 different tribes, including advanced students from other Western states.  Like Laura, many of the teachers were themselves Native Americans from tribes elsewhere in the United States, on the theory that they would serve as relatable teachers. 

On February 22, 1897, Laura Long married John Piper Cochran, a blacksmith at the Phoenix Indian School. Laura and John had one son, John D. Cochran, born March 30, 1898, in Phoenix.

Laura died on January 8, 1899, of inflammation of the bowels and peritonitis (possibly a ruptured appendix).  After a Methodist funeral service attended by almost all the Indian School students, she was laid to rest in Rosedale North, Lot 43. 

Weeks later, her husband’s parents, William C. and Mary Cochran, came to Phoenix to take nine-month-old John back to Kansas with them.  Following John P. Cochran’s remarriage in 1901, young John went to live with his father and his new stepmother.

- by Donna Carr

The Indigenous Architects of Phoenix

Maricopa Woman, 1907

Library of Congress

Several Indigenous peoples were directly connected to the early establishment of what is now Phoenix.  They were central to the development of the region.  They contributed knowledge, irrigation infrastructure, and agricultural expertise that helped sustain the early settler communities in the Salt River Valley.  Here are a few examples of their amazing contributions:

Hohokam
The ancient Hohokam civilization developed the extensive irrigation canals in the Salt River Valley between 300 and 1450 AD, which made the region viable for large-scale agriculture. These canals were later restored and used by settlers in the Phoenix area, directly influencing the city’s foundation and agricultural base.

Akimel O'odham (River People)
Descendants of the Hohokam, the Akimel O'odham continued to live in the region near the Salt and Gila Rivers. They maintained and adapted some of the Hohokam’s canal systems and practiced agriculture. The Akimel O'odham were instrumental in helping early settlers with knowledge of farming techniques and the local environment.

Piipaash
The Maricopa, or Piipaash, migrated to the area and allied with the Akimel O'odham along the Gila River. They contributed to the agricultural practices and trade network in the region, forming a mutually beneficial relationship with the Akimel O'odham. They brought unique traditions, such as pottery styles and cultural practices that have enriched the broader landscape of the area. 

We honor and are thankful for all that they did for the city of Phoenix in making it what it is today.

First Organized Fire Company - 1736

Firefighter in Uniform, 1860

Library of Congress

According to John Bigelow's 1869 edition of the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, the Union Fire Company was established on December 7, 1736. Initially, its primary purpose was to protect the property of its members; however, the company extended its services beyond its membership when others were in need. The Union Fire Company remained active until at least 1791. At that time, it comprised thirty members and was equipped with one engine, 250 buckets, thirteen ladders, two hooks, no bags, and an eighty-foot rope.