“This is Thanksgiving, which is celebrated by us by partaking of a dinner of wild ducks roasted, stewed quails, mince pie and a very fine watermelon just picked from the vines, all of which we heartily enjoyed.” Wait, watermelon for Thanksgiving? Seems that’s what California Gold Rush merchant Stephen Chapin David recalled. Another Forty-Niner, Alfred T. Jackson, recalled his 1850 Thanksgiving: “All we did was to lay off and eat quail stew and dried apple pie.” While many associate
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