Holiday Hours: Thanksgiving

Plymouth's statue of Massasoit, who was instrumental in Plymouth Colony's survival, looks out over the Plymouth Rock monument. Image via SeePlymouth.com.

Thanksgiving will be observed on Thursday, Nov. 25. The day is a national holiday inspired by the first Thanksgiving dinner shared between the Pilgrims and Wampanoags in 1621 at Plymouth. The living history museum Plimoth Patuxet continues the tradition each year with a recreation of the event in which visitors can participate. This year will include COVID-19 restrictions.

Thanksgiving was first federally recognized by proclamation in 1863 by President Lincoln at the height of the Civil War. It did not become codified as a national holiday until 1941, when President Roosevelt signed a law setting it as the fourth Thursday of November. Canada holds a similar celebration on the second Monday in October.

The day is not celebrated by all. Some Native Americans consider it a Day of Mourning because of the massive disruption the advent of European settlers caused to the first Americans through disease, land theft and war. The United American Indians of New England gather annually in Plymouth at the statue of Wampanoag leader Massasoit and a nearby plaque commemorating the National Day of Mourning.  

More locally, the day marks the anniversary of the completion of the Hoosac Tunnel. It was on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 1874, that the final bit of rock was blasted out in the town of Florida to open what was then the longest rail tunnel in the world.

It was a couple of days after Thanksgiving in 1965 that folk-rock legend Arlo Guthrie was arrested for littering in Stockbridge, sparking the famous song "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" about the Thanksgiving feast and its consequences. The Arlo Guthrie Center in Housatonic, which celebrated 30 years on Monday, has offered an annual community Thanksgiving dinner to commemorate the event and Guthrie often performs the song locally. This year, the center is offering takeout by reservation.

The Friday after Thanksgiving, popularly known as Black Friday, is considered the start of the Christmas shopping season marked with special discounts at retailers. The reference is believed to date to at least the early 1960s, but Black Friday deals have begun to creep into the holiday with stores opening with special discounts before and even on the day of Thanksgiving. Small Business Saturday encourages people to shop at local businesses after spending a day at the mall or big box stores. 

Thanksgiving Day
Closed:
Federal, state and local offices; no mail delivery.
Banks
Public libraries
Most offices and businesses
BRTA is not running
Colleges and schools
Liquor & package stores
Stock market

Open:
Restaurants and bars, by choice
Convenience stores
Some retail outlets have full or partial hours
Movie theaters

Black Friday
Open
Retail outlets open; many chains have early and late-night hours
Federal, state and local offices; mail delivery.
Banks
BRTA running; office closed
Most businesses open
Stock market

Closed
Schools and colleges
Many local and state offices

Travel
A storm system in the Midwest may cause high winds, heavy rains and travel delays across the Northeast. 

MassDOT is expecting high travel despite the novel coronavirus. Travelers should expect face covering requirements for public travel and indoor spaces; some venues may require COVID-19 vaccination proof and Logan International Airport will be offering several types of rapid tests. 

Greenagers Youth Crew to Assess County Bridges and Culverts

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
07:15AM / Saturday, December 04, 2021

The survey is part of a larger hazard mitigation program to identify areas for flooding and ecological damage caused by climate change.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Greenagers youth crew will be assessing the bridges and culverts of Pittsfield, Lenox, Stockbridge, and New Marlborough over the next two years. 

The environmentally interested teens will be determining what improvements are needed for the infrastructure to support increased precipitation and flooding, wildlife crossings, and stormwater management.

"I think sort of the biggest thing we want to get out there is that if you see folks assessing these structures or in your neighborhood, then it's a Greenagers crew, that it's youth doing this project in their area," Courteny Morehouse, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's senior planner for the Environmental & Energy Program said.

"And then if they want to get in touch and learn more about the project, or just get engaged, they can contact me they can, they can go and talk to the youth that are there, mostly just want to get folks knowledgeable about the project that's happening."

At the project's conclusion, the four communities will be given a Road Stream Crossing Management Plan (RSCMP) with an inventory of its road street crossings and culverts that need attention ranked by priority.