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Just as the Pilgrims celebrated their safe arrival in New England with a Thanksgiving feast in 1619, so, too, did the students, faculty, staff, and families of Thomas Aquinas College’s new campus in Northfield, Massachusetts, this past Saturday evening. Opting to forego the annual Christmas dance that students in California enjoy each December, the New England community chose to bolster their Thanksgiving Dinner with a dance, making it the major event of the fall semester.

The festivities, which took place in Gould Hall, began with the Pledge of Allegiance (led by sophomore Peter McDonald), the National Anthem (sung by freshman Rebecca Scheurer), and an invocation from Chaplain Rev. Greg Markey. The community then sat down for a feast of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and the rest of the traditional Thanksgiving fare. The dinner concluded with Assistant Dean Dr. Gardner’s reading Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, followed by remarks from Associate Dean Dr. Thomas J. Kaiser.

Events then moved from Gould Hall’s dining room to its foyer, where the Thomas Aquinas College, New England, Choir entertained everyone with several hymns and spirituals, most notably, “God’s Gonna Set this World on Fire,” arranged by Moses Hogan. After the brief concert, the floor was cleared to make way for dancing and the Thanksgiving Cake Walk, in which students and tutors’ children could win delicious pies, fudge, cookies, and bread. All of the attendants, young and old, danced through a large portion of the night, enjoying contra dancing, swing, waltz, the Virgina reel, and even some rumba and foxtrot. 

New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019
  • New England Thanksgiving Dinner and Dance 2019