Published in the Missoulian Nov 28, 2013
By its very definition, Thanksgiving means that we should look back on the past as we gather together with family and friends.
The first recorded Thanksgiving in what became Montana took place in the isolated mining town of Bannack in 1863, shortly after President Abraham Lincoln had established it as a national observance.
In the rough and tumble mining community, what people wanted to be thankful for was gold, and most were too busy looking for it to take time out to have much more than a helping of beans.
But the territory was already growing up. Wil...