DUANE
Duane's take
The marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one passing it along. Now, you might think gratitude is a simple thing — a pause before supper, a quiet word before sleep. But in Dallas, they took that impulse and built something out of it.
Literally. Let me walk you through how it happened. People on this continent have been giving thanks since long before any of this was called Texas.
The Indians were doing it centuries ago, in their own way, on their own terms. Then in 1541 — fifteen forty-one — a man named Fray Juan Padilla, riding with Coronado's Expedition, recorded a Thanksgiving right there in Palo Duro Canyon, near what we now call Amarillo. That's not a footnote.
That's a beginning. Come forward to 1842. The Republic of Texas is a nation unto itself, and President Sam Houston asks his people to give thanks for exactly that — for their place among the independent nations of the earth.
After statehood, the governors picked up where Houston left off, and starting in 1849 they began issuing annual proclamations. Year after year. A tradition honored so long in Texas it had roots like a live oak.
But here's where Dallas enters the story, and here's where it gets interesting. In 1907 — nineteen-oh-seven — something unusual happened. A rabbi, a priest, and Protestant ministers came together at Bush Temple in Dallas and started a community worship service of thanksgiving.
Interfaith, together, in an era when that was not exactly the default. That service ran until 1918. Time kept moving.
In 1941, Dallas marked its one hundredth anniversary with a service of thanksgiving and dedication in the Hall of State at Fair Park. Then came 1942 — a war year — and a Thanksgiving Day service was held at the Palace Theatre. People needed it.
And so they came back. They kept coming back. That service was repeated annually for sixteen years.
But here's the thing about gratitude — at least the way some people see it. Once a year starts to feel like not quite enough. So in 1968, a foundation purchased land right here in downtown Dallas for something called Thanks-Giving Square.
Not a once-a-year event. A place. A permanent reminder that thanksgiving isn't just a date on the calendar.
From Palo Duro Canyon in 1541 to a plot of land in downtown Dallas in 1968 — centuries of people, in their own way, stopping long enough to say thank you. That's the story this marker is keeping.
What the marker says
Thanksgiving is man's response to his Creator. In an unusual early expression of interfaith good will, a rabbi, a priest, and Protestant ministers started in 1907 at Bush Temple in Dallas a community worship service of thanksgiving which continued until 1918. The 100th anniversary of Dallas in 1941 was a service of thanksgiving and dedication in the Hall of State at Fair Park. In the war year of 1942, a Thanksgiving Day service was held at the Palace Theatre; this was repeated annually for 16 years. To celebrate thanksgiving at all times--not just annually--a foundation purchased land in 1968 for Thanks-Giving Square, here in downtown Dallas. People on this continent have given God thanks in their own way, beginning with the Indians centuries ago. The Spanish in 1541 recorded a Thanksgiving by Fray Juan Padilla of Coronado's Expedition in Palo Duro Canyon near present Amarillo. In 1842, President Sam Houston asked the Republic of Texas to give thanks for its place among the independent nations of the earth. After statehood, governors started in 1849 to issue annual proclamations fulfilling this universal tradition so long honored in Texas. (1971)