Presidents Letter for November 2010
November is a wonderful month in our great state of Florida. The weather cools off and our snowbird friends return. It is the month that is noted for Thanksgiving which we celebrate this year on the 25th. We all have personal reasons to give thanks. Hopefully this Thanksgiving season will bring your family and friends together in the finest spirit of this season.
Floridians are not opposed to a good controversy, and our recent election is proof of that. As many already know from reading my other articles, St. Augustine Florida is noted as “Our Nations First City”. What may be more controversial to our Northern friends is that St. Augustine is less known as the location of the first Thanksgiving which took place over 50 years before the one we all traditionally celebrate that occurred at Plymouth Rock! The real first Thanksgiving was held at a grassy spot on the Matanzas River at what is now the city of St. Augustine where Spanish Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles came ashore on September 8, 1565. At this spot he along with500 soldiers, 200 sailors, 100 civilian families and artisans, and the Timucuan Indians who occupied the village of Seloy, gathered at a makeshift altar and said the first Christian Mass in what is now the United States. Afterward, this is the spot where they held the first Thanksgiving feast. The Timucuans brought oysters and giant clams. The Spaniards carried from their ships garbanzo beans, olive oil, bread, pork and wine.
The Florida Suncoast Region is proceeding with its plans for the first Cadillac & LaSalle Club Grand National in Florida in 2012. Unlike the primitive conditions the Spanish endured in 16th century Florida, we will enjoy the luxury of the Marriott Renaissance Hotel at World Golf Village. Located just off of I-95 at St. Augustine, we can enjoy modern comforts and may also explore the history of this area that goes back 447 years (by 2012) to the eventful landing of Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles.
If you would like to read more about this first Thanksgiving you may enjoy reading an article from the Pittsburg Post Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09326/1014871-37.stm or Google “Florida First Thanksgiving”
Don’t forget to mark your calendar to our Florida Suncoast Annual Picnic in the park which is our region’s Thanksgiving to our members and friends.
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