Today we shared a few Thanksgiving fact checks…quick, clear, and commonly misunderstood points:
✅ Fact Check #1: Did the Pilgrims call it “Thanksgiving”?
False.
The 1621 harvest gathering was not called “Thanksgiving” by the Pilgrims. That term was used for religious days of fasting and prayer, not feasting.
✅ Fact Check #2: Was turkey definitely served at the first Thanksgiving?
Probably false.
The only foods confirmed by historical accounts are venison, corn, and some type of fowl (which could have been duck, goose, or even swan). Turkey is possible but not verified.
✅ Fact Check #3: Did the Pilgrims wear black clothes and big buckled hats?
False.
That is a myth from later art. Pilgrims wore a variety of colors—earth tones, blues, greens—and buckles were not common until decades later.
✅ Fact Check #4: Did Abraham Lincoln make Thanksgiving a national holiday?
True.
In 1863, Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, largely due to the advocacy of writer Sarah Josepha Hale.
✅ Fact Check #5: Was Thanksgiving always on the fourth Thursday of November?
False.
For many decades it was the last Thursday of November.
Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it to the fourth Thursday in 1941 to lengthen the Christmas shopping season.
✅ Fact Check #6: Are cranberries native to North America?
True.
Cranberries originated in North America, and both Native peoples and early colonists used them long before the modern sauce.
✅ Fact Check #7: Does the President really “pardon” a turkey?
True (but ceremonial).
The turkey pardon is a light-hearted tradition that became an official annual practice during the George H. W. Bush administration in 1989.
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We also heard some final totals for the 2025 Operation Christmas Child collection here in Knox County. Jill Haught shared with WNZR that we surpassed our goal by 272 boxes, collecting 5,930 boxes!
- I was born November 26, 1939 in Brownsville, Tennessee
- I rose to fame in the 1960’s, with a band known for hits like ‘Proud Mary.’
- I left that group in 1976 and rebranded as a solo artist, breaking through with my 1984 album, “Private Dancer”
- I sold more than 100 million records and earned multiple Grammy Awards
- I died in 2023 at my home in Switzerland at 83 years of age.
Congratulations to Jennifer of Fredericktown, who guessed correctly that our Who Am I? artist was Tina Turner! Jennifer wins the $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica!
Thanks for listening!
– Joe
Driving Notes 