|
|
Monday, October 29, 2007
Living History: Thanksgiving has complex past, but harks to high ideals
In some ways the feast did demonstrate mutual respect and good will. Brown's Park included an eclectic mix of Americans, European immigrants, African Americans, Latinos, ranchers, merchants and outlaws. On this Thanksgiving, it was the outlaws who extended the good will: They hosted a spectacular dinner for 35 of their neighbors.
The feisty "Queen Ann" Bassett, friend of Butch Cassidy, later wrote about the celebration. Butch and other outlaws put on a grand spread (using other people's money, of course). Wearing their finest, the guests gathered at one of the homes. The rough ranching men waxed their mustaches and wore dark suits, vests, white shirts with starched collars and bow ties. The rough ranching women wore corsets and tight-fitted dresses with mutton-leg sleeves, with their hair styled in French twists or buns. The teenage girls wore their dresses a little shorter and curled or braided their hair. Ann, herself a teenager who loved clothes dearly, remembered that she wore a powder-blue dress with pleats and a Peter Pan collar, puffed sleeves, and a wide sash tied in a big bow in back. Her special black stockings cost $3 a pair. - Salt Lake Tribune
|
