HELEN SUE JOHNSON Times-Leader Correspondent Bring on the turkey! Bring on the pumpkin pie! It's Thanksgiving! During Lincoln's presidency, the last Thursday in November was designated a National Day of Thanksgiving. So you can imagine the uproar caused when, during the Great Depression, President Roosevelt designated the third Thursday in November to be celebrated as Thanksgiving. It was done to help out the hard-pressed merchants, giving them more time to sell their Christmas merchandise. For years afterward, I never knew exactly on which Thursday Thanksgiving was to be celebrated, but it is back to the last Thursday. I think! Our schools, churches and city government officials went all out to make the holiday season as enjoyable as possible. They succeeded, for I remember joyfully those holidays when I was a child. There was news seeping out on radios and in newspapers of unrest in Europe over the exploitation of Africa's wealth in gold, diamonds, minerals, farmland and ports - all wanting a piece of the pie, but the United States of America had it all right here. At our house, we had goose instead of the traditional turkey; probably Dad bought it at someone's farm. Mom's dressing, still unduplicated, was made with broth from boiled goose parts, torn stale biscuits, lots of sage, onion bits, cut-up celery and baked to a crusty top. It smelled up the whole house, whetting our appetites. There was also cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes baked with marshmallows on top, and two kinds of pie - pumpkin and mincemeat. Sometimes there was a snowfall at Thanksgiving, which made the season more festive. The shops around the square were filled with businesses. The two factories - shirt and dress - were going strong, employing womenfolk. Rehearsals were going on at the churches preparing for Christmas pageants soon to be celebrated. And even Sears, Roebuck and Montgomery Ward catalogs got some of our business with their Christmas sales coming up. It was a happy day when those catalogs were delivered, full of the latest in everything imaginable, from soup to nuts. Looking back, how grateful we were for the government officials in city and county for their astute handling of government affairs affecting the welfare of the inhabitants in all aspects locally. Happy Thanksgiving to one and to all. . Helen Sue Johnson is a former McLeansboro resident.