Thanksgiving: My Favorite Holiday

What’s your favorite holiday? One of my favorites has always been Thanksgiving. Who hasn’t been in a school play dressed up as a Pilgrim (or a turkey) reenacting that first Thanksgiving Day in 1621 when the surviving Puritans gave thanks for their bountiful harvest ?

According to CHASE’S CALENDAR OF EVENTS (Ref 4803 .C48), the first US holiday by presidential proclamation was issued on Oct. 3, 1789 when George Washington (at request of Congress) proclaimed November 26, 1789 “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer…”. The most famous Thanksgiving Proclamation is the one issued by President Lincoln in 1863. The beautifully written proclamation was actually penned by his Secretary of State, William Seward. http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/thanks.htm

Since 1941 the fourth Thursday in November has been our official Thanksgiving Holiday. Most of us celebrate it by watching Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and eating turkey, dressing and all the trimmings. http://www1.macys.com/campaign/parade/parade.jsp

Learn more about Thanksgiving and other US holidays on USA.gov’s American Holidays page. http://www.usa.gov/citizens/holidays.shtml

	We Gather Together

Bernice Wright bwright@sfasu.edu rm. 202j 936.468.1528 Subjects - Agriculture, Forestry, Human Sciences, Human Services, Speech/Communication

Was Shakespeare an Identity Thief?

Could Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, have been the true author of the plays attributed to actor William Shakespeare of Stratford-on-Avon? Was Shakespeare involved in a conspiracy to conceal his identity?

SFA grad and former Steen Library employee, Pamela Lynn Palmer,(MySpace page) explores that theory in her award-winning play, "Eclipse of the Sun: A Play in Two Acts." The promotional brochure explains, "Sex, violence, and intrigue in the court of Elizabeth I conspired to mask a grievous case of identity theft, perpetuating what may be the greatest literary hoax of all time."

USA Book News named her play a Finalist in the Theatre Arts:Drama/Play category of the National Best Books 2008 Awards. "Eclipse of the Sun" won “Best Play” in the Spring 2004 WriteMovies.com international competition.

"The University of Southwestern Louisiana kept sponsoring a contest for a play about the life and works of Edward de Vere. I finally looked up the name and realized he was the Earl of Oxford some believed might be the true author of the works under the name William Shakespeare. I did some research and found the theory fascinating, . . .and wrote my play.” She won the contest, the Miller Award Drama Category from the Deep South Writers Competition.

A prolific writer and award-winning poet, Pam Palmer authored the young adult novel, "Horse of the Dawn," now a talking book.

Born in Shreveport, LA and raised in Houston, Pam graduated from high school in Houston, TX in 1969. She finished two degrees at SFASU in just 4 years and added, “Of course my social life suffered!” She earned a B.A. in English (with honors) in 1971 and an M.A. in English 1973.

Pam Palmer worked at R.W. Steen library from 1976-1997; first, as a Library Assistant in Humanities, then in Special Collections (now the ETRC), and later in Reference/Documents. She currently resides in Valencia, California and would love to see “Eclipse of the Sun” debut at SFA!

Photo by permission of Ivan Murray, PIO, Palo Verde College

Carol Scamman cscamman@sfasu.edu rm. 202e 936.468.1710 Subjects - Art, English, Modern Languages, Social Work, Sociology, Theatre

Sweetest Industry on Earth: The Sweet Industry Group

What do Russia, Thailand, South Korea, India, and Portugal have in common?

They are part of the "sweet industry group, chocolate confectionery". In fact, I don't think there is a country in the world that doesn't have a confectionery company making some kind of chocolate chocolate candies. A great place to find out about the chocolate industry around the world or any other type of industry, is the library resource, Marketline. Marketline currently provides 3,024 industry profiles. Each offers all sorts of info such as market volume, segmentation, forecasts, and leading companies for each industry.

As for the Russians; the sweet industry group report reveals that they favor packaged or boxed chocolates. Is their romance in the air?

	Marthea Turnage mturnage@sfasu.edu rm. 202c 936.468.1896 Subjects - Accounting, Criminal Justice, Economics and Finance, General Business, Law, Management/Marketing/International Business, Nursing, Psychology