Sarah Hale
Yesterday morning I was reading a different genre (not the U.S. Civil War) and learned about Sarah Hale, who was a strong proponent of a national Thanksgiving Day.
In 1860 several northern states had picked November 29th as their Thanksgiving Day, but South Carolina opted for November 21st.
As I learned from the Wikipedia article I linked to, Sarah Hale, who was strongly opposed to slavery and in favor of the Union, had a very interesting career. One of her causes was the establishment of a national Thanksgiving Day. She wrote to every president from Taylor to Lincoln promoting her idea.
As I’m gazing into my crystal ball, I do believe her persistence will pay off in a few years.
Letter to Lincoln
Thanks to her we can watch big Mickey Mouse balloons and the Detroit Lions on the fourth Thursday every November.
Depression-era Mickey - Macy's Parade 1934
Bronco Nagurski: led Bears against Lions in 1930s (first Thanksgiving Lions game 1934 - lost to Bears)
