My History News Network Thanksgiving Oped

Imagine a mystery guest coming to your Thanksgiving dinner, one you have never met.

After World War II, that is what happened in thousands of American households. But it was an imaginary, or “silent,” guest: one of the world’s hungry.

The “silent guest” campaign of 1947-48 asked Americans to open up their hearts and share their Thanksgiving bounty. Gov. Robert Bradford of Massachusetts, a descendant of the Pilgrims who started Thanksgiving, proclaimed the new tradition of feeding a “silent guest” at the holiday meal.

Read the full article at the Cincinnati Enquirer:

Invite a ‘silent guest’ this Thanksgiving and help people in need

Former Massachusetts Gov. Robert Bradford was a messenger of hope. It was the Thanksgiving season of 1947 and Bradford, a descendant of the Pilgrims, made a special radio address to the nation.

The governor asked Americans to invite a silent guest into their homes for their Thanksgiving meals. This imaginary “silent guest” would be one of the hungry people in Europe.

See my full commentary at The Seattle Times.

My History News Network Thanksgiving Column

This Thanksgiving season take a moment and let your mind wander back to the autumn of 1947. That’s when the Greatest Generation again rose to meet a challenge and help those in need.

They started the tradition of setting aside a plate at the Thanksgiving table for a “silent guest,” one of the world’s hungry.

See my full commentary at The History News Network

How to help WFP feed Syrian war refugees

Today, I have a letter in the New York Times about ways we can help the starving Syrian war refugees. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has been forced to cut rations for these war victims because funding is so low. We can do something about it.

Read the full article at Examiner.

Feed a "silent guest" on Giving Tuesday

Imagine if you looked out your window and saw starving refugees from the war in Syria. They have traveled for days to escape the civil war in that country.

Read the full article at Examiner.

Newspapers featuring the “Silent Guest” program to feed the hungry

Here is a list of newspapers and media sites that published my article on feeding a ‘silent guest” this holiday season! A couple of the newspapers also published their own editorial endorsing this holiday tradition to feed the hungry.

Baltimore Sun
Boston Herald
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Des Moines Register
Detroit Free Press
The Green Bay Press Gazette
Global Hunger Examiner
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Missoulian newspaper (MT)
Monterey Herald
Red Bluff Daily News
San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News Editorial
Contra Costa Times/Oakland Tribune Editorial

A Thanksgiving gift for Syria's war victims

The war in Syria has caused a hunger emergency in the Middle East. On Thanksgiving Eve it was announced that the U.S. Food for Peace program is donating US $125 million to feed the war victims.

Read the full article at Examiner.

My commentary in the Des Moines Register: Feed a Silent Guest this Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, put an extra chair at your table and make room for a “silent guest.” That guest can be one of the world’s 805 million hungry people.

Read the article at The Des Moines Register.

My commentary in the Boston Herald: Feed a Silent Guest this Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, put an extra chair at your table and make room for a “silent guest.” That guest can be one of the world’s 805 million hungry people.

Read the article at The Boston Herald.

Halloween ushers in season of the silent guest

During the Halloween of 1947, plans were being made for the arrival of the "silent guest" into homes across America. It was not a horror movie, but just the opposite.

Read the full article at Examiner.