The first Thanksgiving -- Pumpkin pie was probably beyond first American feast

Chelsea Wells serves pumpkin dessert to St. Patrick's Catholic School students Devon Meixner, left, and Sid Wier during a Thanksgiving feast at Sehnert's Bieroc Cafe in downtown McCook Tuesday afternoon. (Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Daily Gazette) [Click to enlarge]

Their pets and their family, food ... oh, and the turkey. That's what St. Patrick's Catholic School second and third graders said they're thankful for when they were treated to a Thanksgiving feast at Sehnert's Biéroc Café in downtown McCook Tuesday afternoon.

Third grader Gabe Sehnert shared his family's bakery and his grandpa Walt Sehnert's gift of storytelling when he and his fellow students and teachers Linda Brewster and Lara Stewart stopped by for stories, pumpkin dessert and a session of singing Thanksgiving songs.

Walt told students that the original Thanksgiving feast was a three-day celebration hosted by the Pilgrims for the Indians who saved them from starvation after their first, devastating winter in America, in 1620. "They had it pretty tough that first year, and more than half of them died," Walt said, explaining that it was the native Americans who saved them the next spring, teaching them how to grow vegetables and fertilize their crops.

Walt Sehnert, the grandfather of fellow student Gabe Sehnert, led a discussion about what students are thankful for, and he and his wife, Jean, led the singing of "Over the River and through the Woods" and "God Bless America." Joining in the singing were students Kyler Bortner, left, and Riley Mai. (Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Daily Gazette) [Click to enlarge]

"The Pilgrims were a God-fearing group of people," Walt said, telling students that the Pilgrims wanted to thank God and the Indians for the gift of a bountiful harvest after suffering so greatly through their first winter.

"Did the Pilgrims have pumpkin pie?" Walt asked. "They wished they'd pumpkin pie," he chuckled. During the Pilgrims' first summer, their flour turned moldy, Walt said, and there was not only no crust for a pumpkin pie, but there was also no bread of any kind for the first celebration.

They may have grown pumpkins, Walt said, but they had no cinnamon or allspice to spice it up. "It must have been a very bland dish," he said. "No one of us would have asked for seconds."

A new food for the Pilgrims was cranberries, Walt said, but they had to learn how to use them "The Indians taught them to sweeten the cranberries with maple syrup," he said. "Now, none of us would probably like our cranberries with maple syrup, but it was better than eating them raw."

Walt said the tradition of watching football games on Thanksgiving is probably much older than most people think. "This happened very early, in 1874 on Thanksgiving Day, when they had the first college championship football game," he chuckled. "And the tradition continues today."

Traveling is another tradition. "Is anyone going to Grandma's house?" Walt asked, referring to the old song, "Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we go?" While many hands flew up, one student told him, "No, Grandma's coming to my house."

"Is eating too much a part of the tradition?" Walt asked. One student agreed, "We eat a whole bunch and sleep."

"What Thanksgiving traditions are part of your families?" Walt asked. Someone said, "We get together for dinner."

"We wish on the wishbone," another said.

"We ride horses," Martika McKain said.

"Our family has a trap shoot in the pasture," said teacher Linda Brewster. Walt said, "That goes back to the games that the Pilgrims and the Indians played."

"We go around the table and tell what we're thankful for," said Gabe Sehnert.

Nakia Blancas told Walt, "We pray."

Walt told students that sometimes families have argued during the year. "Families sometimes get owly," he said. "But it's hard to hold a grudge over a good turkey dinner with pumpkin pie."