For November, we will be talking about the US Voting Day and the US Thanksgiving. Voting Day is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. This year, (2025) Voting Day will be on November 4th, and Thanksgiving will be on November 27.
The story in this book regarding Thanksgiving is problematic, and I think you can see for yourself what I mean.
As a reminder, we are taking our stories from the 1913 reader Stories of Our Holidays by Isabel M. Horsford.
Voting Day’s reading words are
rulers wonder careful certain ballot mistake voting empty address machine possible
Voting Day
In our country the people choose their own rulers.
Every year there are certain days for choosing them.
We call these days voting days.
Do you know when these days come?
Let us play that it is voting day.
Father is all ready to go and vote.
I wonder if he knows just how he is going to vote.
Each voter must go to a certain place on voting day.
So Father walks along until he comes to his voting place.
He walks in and tells his name and where he lives.
A man looks to see whether Father’s name is on the list.
When he finds it, he crosses it off.
Then he gives Father a ballot.
Do you know what a ballot is?
It is a paper with names on it, — the names of the men to be voted for.
Father takes his ballot.
All around the room are little places like boxes.
He walks to an empty one and looks over his ballot.
Sometimes it is long, and he has to be very careful.
He takes a pencil and puts a cross beside the name of the man for whom he wants to vote.
Oh, dear! he has made a mistake.
Now he must go and get a new ballot.
This time he will be very careful. He will not make any mistakes.
Now he has finished.
He has put the crosses just where he wants them.
He takes his ballot to another man and once more tells his name and address.
He puts his ballot into a machine that quickly rolls it out of sight.
When the time for voting is over, the ballots are taken out and the votes are counted.
Father wants to know just as soon as possible who got the most votes.
He will find out when he reads the paper the next morning.
Does any one know how old a man must be before he can vote?
Will you have to wait very long before that time?
*****
It may be interesting to note that voting age in 1913 was generally 21 in all states. It was not until 1971 that the federal voting age changed to 18. As a reminder, only some states allowed women to vote in elections. I thought it was interesting that they used pencils to vote rather than pens.
*****
Now on to Thanksgiving!
The Story of the Pilgrims
I
fortunes Plymouth Pilgrims Massachusetts
Long ago the Indians lived in our country.
We call the Indians red men.
I wonder who can tell why.
There were no white people here then.
Columbus was a white man.
He found the Indians here.
After Columbus many more white men came to America.
Some came to see the country.
Some came to make their fortunes.
Others came here to live.
Would you like to read about the Pilgrims?
They came here to make new homes.
Fathers and mothers came.
Little boys and girls came too.
They came in winter time.
They called their new home Plymouth.
Some day you may go to Plymouth.
Plymouth is in Massachusetts.
I know you will like to see where the Pilgrims landed.
II
England Holland Mayflower church Dutch through prison windmill Thanksgiving
The Pilgrims lived in England.
They loved their country very much.
But they wanted to be free.
The king said, “These people must do just as I tell them to do.
“They must go to my church.
If they do not, I will put them in prison.”
So the Pilgrims left England.
They thought that was the best thing to do.
First they went to Holland.
Dutch people live in Holland.
There are many windmills in Holland.
So we call Holland the “land of windmills”.
These people were very kind to the pilgrims.
Still the Pilgrims could not stay there.
They said, “We must have a home of our own.”
So they said good-by to their friends in Holland.
They they sailed away to America.
They sailed in a boat called the Mayflower.
They were on the ocean a long time.
It was winter when they reached America.
Snow was on the ground.
It was very, very cold.
The men had to cut down trees.
Then they built a log house.
It was not a very warm house.
Sometimes the snow would blow at the windows.
The wind would blow through the cracks.
Sometimes they did not have much to eat.
Some of the people died.
By and by spring came.
The ice and snow melted away.
The days grew warmer.
The Pilgrims made friends with the Indians.
The Indians told them how to plant corn.
The Pilgrim boys helped their fathers.
Sometimes they went fishing.
The Indians showed them the best places.
The Pilgrim girls helped their mothers.
Everybody worked hard all summer.
In the autumn the corn was ripe.
They had enough to last all winter.
Oh, how happy they were!
“God is good to us,” they said.
“We have so many good things.
“We must thank God for all these good things.
“Let us have a Thanksgiving Day.”
So they had a Thanksgiving Day.
In the morning they went to church.
They thanked God for all the good things.
After church they had a Thanksgiving dinner.
The Pilgrim mothers cooked the dinner.
The little girls helped their mothers.
Who do you think came to this Thanksgiving dinner?
The Indians, who had been so kind to the Pilgrims.
That was our first Thanksgiving Day.
