The first Thanksgiving...

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The first Thanksgiving on American soil probably occurred in May 1541 near Canyon, Texas, where Father Juan de Padilla said Mass for an army of 1,500 soldiers under conquistador Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. Or it may have occurred on September 8, 1565, when Father Francisco Lopez said a Mass for the 800 newly-arrived Spanish colonists in St. Augustine, Florida. Or among the English, the leader of the settlers who landed at Berkeley Hundred (in present-day Henrico County, Virginia) on December 4, 1619, commanded that: “We ordain that this day of our ships’ arrival, at the place assigned for plantation, in the land of Virginia, shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving for Almighty God.”
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Mary Donna Coffey

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Mary Donna Luna came into this world May 18, 1946, born on the Luna family homeplace near Swink, Okla., to Millard(Bigun) Luna and Okemah Henthorne Luna. She married Dewey Ray Coffey, blending their families, on May 1, 1979. Donna departed this life Nov. 13, 2021 in Dallas, Texas. She was preceded in death by Dewey; her parents and her brother, Glen Luna.

USDA announces scholars programs at historically Black and Tribal land-grant colleges and universities

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 scholarship application cycle for the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program and the 1994 Tribal Scholars Program. These partnerships with the 19 1890 landgrant universities and 35 tribal colleges and universities are among USDA’s efforts to develop the next generation of food and agriculture leaders and build an agriculture workforce that is more representative of America. These scholarship programs are administered through USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE).