Colonial Dames 17th Century learn about Thanksgiving foods and Thomas Jefferson's aversion to cold weather

Nov. 12—THOMASVILLE- John Lee of Nansemond Chapter, National Society Colonial Dames Seventeenth Century met recently at The Plaza Garden Room and had as their guest presenter Robert H. Parrish, Jr. who gave a very informative program on "Where Did Our Favorite Thanksgiving Foods Originate?" followed by Thomas Jefferson's "Quotes on Winter." Jefferson's aversion to winter can be summed up in this quote, "I shudder at the approach of winter."

Parrish, a retired educator, and principal in the Thomas County School System, member of the National Society Sons of the American Revolution, and Chaplain of the Valdosta Chapter, gave eleven quotes by Jefferson on the severity of winter during his time at Monticello and Poplar Forest, his and Martha's other estate, eighty miles from Monticello near Lynchburg, Virginia, with winter travel being very difficult. Jefferson suffered greatly from the cold and devised clothing to help him try and keep warm. Men at the time wore waistcoats and Jefferson modified his by having stockings sewn in as lining. Also he is pictured several times wearing a modified waistcoat with a wolf-skin pelisse (a long coat or cloak) and fur boots. One of Jefferson's quotes was "It is so cold that the freezing of the ink on the point of my pen makes it difficult to write." The thermometer was at 12 degrees when he wrote this.

Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count von Rumford, a contemporary of Jefferson's and an American-born scientist and inventor, who served in the British army during the American Revolution, wrote three tomes on energy efficient designs for fireplaces. Jefferson owned two of the three volumes of Rumford's Essays. Eight Rumford fireplaces were incorporated in renovations by Jefferson in rooms at Monticello.

As much as Jefferson suffered from the cold, he was a fan of ice cream and his ice house at Monticello was a marvel of 18th Century American ingenuity. As with everything Jefferson did, it is a masterpiece of thought-out design, taking 62 wagon loads of ice to fill, generally cut from the Rivanna River and transported to the ice house at Monticello from about January through the cold months and the ice would last until about October 15th. There are daily records of getting the ice, putting it in the icehouse, and it lasting through the summer months. Parrish went over Jefferson's ice cream recipe with the group.

As for the Thanksgiving Day foods, Parrish gave the history of where turkeys, potatoes, squash, pumpkins, corn, and cranberries originated and that the first Thanksgiving on American soil was celebrated on September 8, 1565, where the city of St. Augustine stands today and a 250 foot cross commemorates this site.

Parrish held a drawing among the Dames for two dish towels from Monticello, one having Jefferson's Ice Cream Recipe and the other his Macaroni and Cheese Recipe. Also, a Thomas Jefferson Cookbook was given away.