In 1955 the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, an organization established to support the spiritual needs of people and parishes in rural communities in the United States, published Blessings and Prayers of Thanksgiving for the Family & Parish Observance of Thanksgiving Day. It offered parishioners prayers and a program of spiritual observance for the day. The … Continue reading A Farmer’s Prayer of Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving Rare Books and Special Collections features Truman Capote’s short story, “The Thanksgiving Visitor.” It first appeared in the November 1967 issue of McCall’s magazine; as seen here, it was republished with two other holiday stories in 1996 by Random House in its Modern Library series. “The Thanksgiving Visitor” is one of the few … Continue reading “The Thanksgiving Visitor”
To celebrate Thanksgiving this year, Special Collections highlights Alice’s Restaurant Cookbook by Alice Brock (the Alice of Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” song) and the 1965 Thanksgiving that occasioned it. This is not a cookbook for Thanksgiving. It is a book that exists because of Thanksgiving. It is also a commercial, even nostalgic, artifact (produced by … Continue reading The Thanksgiving that Gave Us a Song, a Movie … and a Cookbook!
Americans might be seeing fewer turkeys on their tables this Thanksgiving, due to the demands of social distancing during the pandemic. No matter what holiday fare you get to enjoy this year, we offer a reminder of our unofficial national bird. This illustration of wild turkeys comes from American Ornithology; or, The Natural History of … Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving to All Our Readers
by Rachel Bohlmann, American History Librarian and Curator Like any person’s private possessions, family papers collected in Special Collections include heartfelt expressions. This scrap of paper, from the Strunsky-Walling Collection, contains a charming and original Thanksgiving greeting, created by Rosamond Walling (1910-1999) for Rifat Tirana (1907-1952). The piece is undated but must have been drawn … Continue reading “Thanksgiving Greetings” from the Strunsky-Walling Collection
by Rachel Bohlmann, American History Librarian This Thanksgiving we’re highlighting a book of poetry and prose that is part of a group of avant-garde American literary works called the Small Press/Mimeograph Revolution, 1940-1970s collection. Millbrook Thanksgiving, by poet and writer Walter Schneider (1934-2015), is a panegyric to the psychedelic-fueled community Timothy Leary created in upstate … Continue reading Thanksgiving from the Margins
Recalling his youth growing up in Hannibal, Missouri, Clemens recounts hunting with his uncle and cousins. A lousy shot, the young Clemens wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of deceitful mamma-turkey. Read on to find out what happened. Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), better known as Mark Twain, authorized Harper’s Magazine to print his “Hunting the Deceitful Turkey.” … Continue reading Thanksgiving Humor by Mark Twain
by George Rugg, Curator, Americana Thanksgiving Day was instrumental to the growth of American football. A season-ending game between the previous year’s top two college teams was first scheduled for Thanksgiving in 1876. In 1880 the contest was moved to New York, where it evolved from game to social event, inaugurating the city’s winter season. By … Continue reading Thanksgiving and football
Since July 2015, when we first welcomed readers to the Rare Books and Special Collections blog, we have enjoyed using this forum to tell readers about recently acquired and newly described items, as well as well-known materials and hidden gems. We publish posts to help you—our readers—better know who we are and what we do, … Continue reading Five More Years of RBSC Blog Posts
Please join us for the following public events and exhibits being hosted in Rare Books and Special Collections: Thursday, November 13 at 5:00pm | Italian Research Seminar: “Our Memories, Ourselves: Restoring Political Communities in Purgatorio” by Filippo Gianferrari (UC Santa Cruz). The Fall 2025 Exhibition | “What through the universe in leaves is scattered”: Mapping Global Dante in … Continue reading Upcoming Events: November 2025
