By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Thanksgiving hasn’t always been about turkey, dressing and all the trimmings.
Students in Kelsey Arnold’s fifth-grade reading class learned that fact while recently completing study on a unit for informative writing.
Part of the class assignment after doing extensive research was for students to write essays on what they found out what was on the menu for that first Thanksgiving. They were also challenged to compare to what is traditionally served nowadays to that first Thanksgiving meal.
According to those reports, the Pilgrims feasted on swan, geese, duck and deer, rather than turkey.
Seafood was also enjoyed at the first meal.
The Pilgrims didn’t have pumpkin pie – a staple of today’s menu – because they lacked the flour and butter for making a crust. Instead, they hollowed out the pumpkin and put milk, honey and spices in it before baking it.
They also ate cranberries, but not the cranberry sauce that is enjoyed today – because they had no sugar left from when they traveled over on the Mayflower.
Additionally, no potatoes of any kind were eaten because they weren’t popular at that time.
“I think the students were most shocked to learn that potatoes weren’t served at the first thanksgiving meal,” Arnold stated. “Many couldn’t believe they could have a meal without the traditional sweet potatoes or even mashed (potatoes).
“I loved seeing them use what they have learned about informative writing to construct an essay about Thanksgiving.”
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