HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM YOUR MUSEUM OF THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

2009 - The Year of Valley History
Thanksgiving Ornament - Photo by Gerald Fecht for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley.
Human beings have celebrated "thanksgiving" festivals at harvest time as long as recorded history. The Pilgrims may very well have celebrated a day of Thanksgiving utilizing indigenous American foods. Only a minority of early European colonists practiced a formal religion or attended denominational services, so the religious aspect for the feast for most would likely to have been limited.
President Lincoln issued the first Federal proclamation of Thanksgiving at the onset of the Civil War on November 28th, 1861. At a time of even greater suffering Lincoln made Thanksgiving an official American day in 1863.

The Museum Community wishes all of us a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. AND DON'T FORGET - The 2nd Annual "Walk It Off" walking tour of historic North Hollywood follows on Saturday at 10 am! So, have that extra piece of pie and join us.
The Museum of the San Fernando Valley 1 (818) 347-9665

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY NOTABLE GENERAL JOHN C. FREMONT

On January 21, 1813, John C. Fremont was born. His destiny would take him across a largely unexplored North American continent and into Norte California, a province of Mexico. Fremont would engage Mexicans and Californianos, and eventually establish the dream of America's "Manifest Destiny" in a small adobe building that today we call Campo de Cahuenga. Fremont would go on to be the first Republican candidate for the Presidency of the United States, become a competitor to an inexperienced young politician from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, and a general in the Union Army in the Civil War.

2009 - The Year of Valley History

Wild Parrots - photograph by Phyllis Hansen - 2009

Nothing says January in Los Angeles better than wild parrots in your garden. Thanks to Phyllis Hansen, member of the Board of Directors of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley, for sharing her photograph.

The San Fernando Valley, in the heart of the Creative Capital of the World, deserves a great Museum of history and culture.