I guess I was a pretty involved mom in my day. I took on various jobs at my kids’ school, one of which was leader to the Buckaroos, the school’s version of boy scouts. One afternoon a week for four years, I willingly subjected myself to entertaining 25 first and second grade boys for 90 minutes. Sounds fun, huh?
Two other moms and I came up with games, crafts and snacks to amuse our lively youngsters and keep them occupied for as much of the 90 minutes as possible. Like they say, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” We were outnumbered and under-qualified, and we knew it.
One Thanksgiving, I came across a cute craft idea—making pilgrims out of walnuts. It was basically a gluing project. I meticulously prepared all the little parts in advance. It proved disastrous. If I recall correctly, nobody finished. All the boys left with glue on their arms, hands and uniforms. One boy managed to sit in glue. I struggled to come up with some better idea for the next Thanksgiving.
Probably most authors have fond memories of their childhood library. I headed for mine, the North Hollywood branch. In the children’s section, I discovered a short history of the Pilgrims and took it home to read. I was intrigued with the details provided—things I never learned in school. At that point in my life, I wasn’t particularly interested in history, but the little book definitely sparked some future passion.
Eager to share this fascinating history, I prepared a short presentation for the next Thanksgiving Buckaroo meeting. There was a bit of comparison to current times. About 25 children survived that first difficult year in Plymouth and only 3 mothers, the same ratio we had at Buckaroos. As I looked out at the squirming, bored boys I was trying to impress, I couldn’t comprehend how those poor, miserable Pilgrim mothers managed to get out of bed every morning.
Plymouth proved a fortuitous landing point for the Pilgrims because the Indians who lived in the area were gone. Perhaps some survived but had abandoned that land, leaving their abodes and many of their belongings behind. In an attempt to ascertain what happened, the Pilgrims dug up some fresh graves to find disease had taken its toll. Surprisingly, they found a body with blond hair. Great information, right? Was it graphic enough to interest first and second grade boys? Well, no. My attempt to fascinate proved at least as big a failure as the walnut Pilgrims.
As time went by, I never again came across the information from the little library book. I even did a bit of research, which proved discouraging. It was with a great deal of pleasure that I read Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick a few years ago. His history not only confirmed what I’d read, it provided real insight to the issues, challenges and even successes of the early settlers in New England. Did you know most Native Americans embraced the technology the Pilgrims brought and were soon much better marksmen than their new neighbors? Did you know all the land in New England was bought and paid for by English settlers? The fact one of my forefathers is mentioned in the book added yet another exciting dimension for me.
Thankfully, I made it out of Buckaroos alive, never to return. My fervent desire to avoid groups of more than five boys at a time has been fulfilled.
A recent visit to the North Hollywood Library was a trip down memory lane. The check-out desk appears much as always. A new wing for the children’s library has been added. The adult section is where the old children’s library used to be. A storage area occupies the remainder of the library, although I can’t imagine how much storage a library might need—it was a huge area filled with rows of bookshelves, tables and chairs, and card catalog cases. The librarian inferred that area had never been made earthquake safe and was thus unworthy of visitors. The smell of musty paper is unchanged. My youngest son’s “most wanted” poster for unpaid library fines still hangs near the door—just kidding.
It’s fun to reflect on our past, good and bad, and it’s great to keep learning. Here’s hoping you won’t discover a walnut Pilgrim on your Thanksgiving table. If you happen to find one, be sure to check your chair for glue. Happy Thanksgiving!