York’s Thanksgiving themed statues still standing tall at the East York post office
I was in the East York post office the other day for the first time in a while. I was very pleased to see the black walnut Thanksgiving statues proudly standing in the lobby on their marble bases. It is so heartening every time you see some of our local history preserved.
The sculptures, one of a farmer bowing his head in thanks and the other of a child and adult singing praises of thanks, were chosen out of 118 entries in 1941. The thanksgiving theme ties into Continental Congress issuing the first national Thanksgiving Proclamation while they were meeting here in 1777-78.
America was coming out of long depression in 1941 and the competition was to boost the economy and the arts. Artists from New England, New York, and New Jersey, as well as Pennsylvania, were invited to submit models.
For more on the statues, including photos of them at their original location, the old post office at George and Princess streets, here is a link to a previous post with my York Sunday News column on the history of the over-70-year-old sculptures:
