Release date is 2025-11-21

Charlene Taylor, Raymond Papworth, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

The Scrubtown sewing circle's Thanksgiving by Maude Livingston Hall Gray is a short comedic play written in the early 20th century. It gently satirizes a small New England sewing circle gathering on Thanksgiving, blending homespun gratitude, gossip, courtship hints, and church charity in a light, performable sketch.

Set in a country parlor in Scrubtown, New Hampshire, the piece follows Mrs. Tattle (the widow-president), Mary Ann Green (the prim secretary), Granny Noddle (cheerfully deaf), Betsey Noddle (her practical granddaughter), Mrs. Gossip (the hostess), and Percilla Primp (a flashy new member). After calling the meeting to order, they hear minutes and a report on a donation party for their bereaved minister, with comic details about the motley gifts. Each woman then tells what she is thankful for: Mrs. Gossip recites her brood; Betsey boasts of saving for a big turkey and inviting the minister; Percilla announces her engagement to Leander Fitzpatrick and her escape from old-maidhood; Granny offers a tottering dance and a tender speech about faith and the hereafter; Mary Ann prides herself on restraining her temper against teasing boys; and Mrs. Tattle thanks providence for good looks, a modest inheritance, and the prospect of remarriage. Mishearings, sharp asides, and friendly barbs keep the talk lively until they adjourn and sing a playful closing hymn, winking at the audience about “not being as old as they appear.” (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1910