In doing a little research, I found an article in the November 26, 1893 New York Times that describes children playing vagabonds and going door to door begging in Brooklyn and New England as a extension of an ancient tradition of the poor and servants going to the houses of the wealthy to beg for things for their own Thanksgiving feasts. So the custom of begging on the holiday goes back to at least the 1856 date of the article that the Times was citing in 1893 as the source of the information. The story itself quotes a little girl from Brooklyn as being proud of having a mask with two noses in it to wear, and that she and other little girls had made costumes to wear for begging on the holiday. I can remember by Dad, Arthur McHugh, talking about going begging in old clothes on Thanksgiving in Jersey City. He was born in 1929, (and graduated Snyder in Spring 1947), so the custom was still around at least as late as the 1930's and early 1940's. And for anyone interested, I have posted before that I have my dad's Snyder yearbooks from the mid-forties, if anyone need a look up. Me, I'm getting dressed up as a tired suburban Mom for Halloween....and all I do on Thanksgiving is eat! =epm= Ask not why the rose has thorns. Rather rejoice that the thornbush has a rose. - Anonymous

Evelyn, I graduated early part of 1944. Has your Dad attended any reunions? Margaret Schmitt Hinz [email protected] wrote: In doing a little research, I found an article in the November 26, 1893 New York Times that describes children playing vagabonds and going door to door begging in Brooklyn and New England as a extension of an ancient tradition of the poor and servants going to the houses of the wealthy to beg for things for their own Thanksgiving feasts. So the custom of begging on the holiday goes back to at least the 1856 date of the article that the Times was citing in 1893 as the source of the information. The story itself quotes a little girl from Brooklyn as being proud of having a mask with two noses in it to wear, and that she and other little girls had made costumes to wear for begging on the holiday. I can remember by Dad, Arthur McHugh, talking about going begging in old clothes on Thanksgiving in Jersey City. He was born in 1929, (and graduated Snyder in Spring 1947), so the custom was still around at least as late as the 1930's and early 1940's. And for anyone interested, I have posted before that I have my dad's Snyder yearbooks from the mid-forties, if anyone need a look up. Me, I'm getting dressed up as a tired suburban Mom for Halloween....and all I do on Thanksgiving is eat! =epm= Ask not why the rose has thorns. Rather rejoice that the thornbush has a rose. - Anonymous ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message --------------------------------- We have the perfect Group for you. Check out the handy changes to Yahoo! Groups.