Begin Again Playing Indian


Thanksgiving pageant, Woolson School, Portland, 1923

Thanksgiving pageant, Woolson School, Portland, 1923
Item 48822   info
Maine Historical Society/MaineToday Media

Students, from left, Hung Wong, Robert Geller, Bella Geller, and Charles Wong of the Woolson School in Portland dress as Pilgrims and Indians in a re-enactment of the first Thanksgiving.

Several of the city's Americanization classes were held at the Woolson School, which drew students from the city neighborhoods where many newcomers settled.

In Portland and across the nation, historical pageantry was frequently incorporated into the Americanization curriculum as a way to teach immigrants and their children about the rights and responsibilities of American citizenship.

The photograph was published in the Portland Sunday Telegram on December 2, 1923.

Item 7 of 7