(CNN) -- I was stunned. We were deep into the fall semester at the University of North Carolina journalism school, where I taught feature writing. I was showing the students an example of a travel article, one I had written for The New York Times about Plymouth, Massachusetts. I read a few paragraphs from the opening scene, with U.S. 44 winding through cranberry bogs, a billboard coming into view with images of Gov. William Bradford and Elder Brewster, the greeting in boldface letters: Welcome to Plymouth -- America's Hometown, and a black Pilgrim hat that conjured up memories of all those Thanksgiving pageants in grade school when Priscilla said: "Speak for yourself, John."
@highlight
Val Lauder: Many people don't know roots of Thanksgiving, story of Pilgrims in 1620
@highlight
She says 102 people sailed from England to New World seeking religious freedom
@highlight
They landed, drew up Mayflower Compact, built colony at barren, wintry Plymouth Harbor
@highlight
Lauder: To celebrate harvest next fall, they had Thanksgiving meal with Native Americans
And pumpkins were such a staple the @placeholder had a verse: