Rick Simone: The Pilgrims, Our First Entrepreneurs
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Thursday, November 21, 2013
Rick Simone, GoLocalWorcester Guest MINDSETTER™
This Thanksgiving, don't forget to give thanks to the Pilgrims, who taught us the value of entrepreneurship.
There are numerous legends about the first Thanksgiving. The stories many of us learned in school talk about how the Pilgrims came to America for greater religious freedom. However, our Pilgrim ancestors also brought to this continent the entrepreneurial spirit that is such an important part of the United States’ economic and cultural consciousness today.
The Plymouth Colony was the start of America and the birth of its pioneering, entrepreneurial spirit. The settlers who arrived on the Mayflower sought freedom and opportunity by building a new home in the wilderness. They had to have a sense of adventure, a tolerance for risk, and the drive to create something new—entrepreneurial skills that are valued in the marketplace today.
The value of perseverance
The hardy group of English Separatists, later known as the Pilgrims, settled the Plymouth Colony in what is now the Cape Cod, Massachusetts, area in 1620. But they weren’t the first Europeans to arrive on North America’s shores. The Spanish and French were already here. The English, who had arrived in 1607 to populate the Virginia Company’s Jamestown settlement, suffered numerous setbacks.
The first winter in the Plymouth Colony was hard, and more than half of the Pilgrims perished from illness or malnutrition. They continued to face meager harvests and hunger, rescued only by long-awaited supply ships from England.
We don’t have many facts about the first Thanksgiving but we do know that it celebrated a good harvest, and that the meal eaten by the Pilgrims and Native Americans was very different than today’s Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, stuffing, and sweet potatoes. Back in 1621, they feasted on seafood, venison, and corn.
Pay it forward
The Pilgrims demonstrated that the more you learn about production and the marketplace, the more you can achieve with an entrepreneurial spirit. Entrepreneurship is still an important tenet. There is a great need for resourceful entrepreneurs at this moment in U.S. history, and they require business skills to create and run successful enterprises.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, please consider supporting local entrepreneurship education programs, such as those offered by nonprofit organizations like Junior Achievement, to inspire America’s future entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship still is the foundational rock of capitalism, just as solid as Plymouth Rock.
Richard V. Simone III is vice president of Events and Special Projects at Seven Swords Media and chairman of the board for Junior Achievement of Rhode Island, which reaches more than 10,300 students annually in grades K-12. For more information, visit www.jarhodeisland.org.
Related Slideshow: Great Thanksgiving Events for the Family
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Thanksgiving 1830’s Style
This Thanksgiving, take the trip to Old Sturbridge Village to enjoy the holiday as it was celebrated in the 1830’s. Learn about a traditional 19th century meal where the favorite item was not cranberry sauce, or even Turkey—it was Marlborough pudding! Visitors will watch after dinner shooting matches, which was equivalent to our after dinner football. Also, American Indian traditions of giving thanks will be shared.
1 Old Sturbridge Village Road, Sturbridge, MA. (508) 347-3362.
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America’s Thanksgiving
Where better to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday than right where is began? Visit Plimouth Plantation to enjoy classic roast turkey with all the fixings. There will be costumed Pilgrim and Native interpreters on site to greet you and tell you stories about the first feast in 1621.
137 Warren Ave, Plymouth, MA. (508) 746-1622.
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Trot off Your Turkey
After the Thanksgiving feast and the madness of Black Friday, most people might assume it’s time to climb into a cocoon and hibernate for the winter. If you’re near Barrington, RI, though, this is not the case. The Saturday after Thanksgiving there will be a “Trot off Your Turkey” 5K/1.5 mile walk or run. Last year, there were over 1,000 participants!
10 Waldron Avenue, Barrington, RI.
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Pilgrim Monument
Join in on a tradition in Provincetown, MA this Thanksgiving. On Wednesday, November 27 head down to the lower Cape for the 103rd annual lighting of the Pilgrim Monument. This special ceremony pays homage to the first Pilgrims that landed in America in Provincetown, on November 11, 1620.
High Pole Hill Road, Provincetown, MA. (508) 487-1310.
Photo: Blanchardb
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Thanksgiving Parade
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Route begins at Plymouth Historic Waterfront.
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Native American Tales
If you’re looking for something fun to do with the little ones to get them excited about the season, why not take them to Providence Children’s Museum? On the day after Thanksgiving, storyteller Thawn Harris will be at the museum to share his Narragansett culture. He will use stories, song and dance and even invite visitors to join in!
100 South Street, Providence, RI. (401) 273-5437.
Photo: redjar/Flickr
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Feast
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Blackstone Polar Express
Bonus!
Once Thanksgiving is over, we are in big holiday territory. What better way to celebrate this than with a ride on the Blackstone Valley Polar Express? Watch your kids’ imaginations soar as a family favorite becomes real life! Each train ride is ninety minutes, and riders will enjoy cookies and hot chocolate! Everyone will get to meet Santa and the conductor. Santa even has a special gift for each child on board.
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