Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, we all take a step back from our daily grind to acknowledge all we have to be thankful for in our daily lives. In gratitude, we thank those who can not be with their families today because their work keeps them away. Some of those individuals are in the oil and gas industry. Producing oil and natural gas is a 24-7-365 job, and, regardless of temperature, time of year, or holiday, those men and women are on the job producing the very energy we use to fill up our cars to get to grandma’s house – or to cook our turkeys. So let us thank those hard-working Americans as we celebrate the day.

Now for a quick history lesson on Thanksgiving. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as the first Thanksgiving celebration in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of “thanks-giving” were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. And tt was not until December 26, 1941 that the unified date changed to the fourth Thursday (and not always final) in November—this time by federal legislation. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, after two years earlier offering his own proclamation to move the date earlier, signed legislation making Thanksgiving a national holiday on the fourth Thursday in November.

In wishing you and your family a happy holiday, we’d like to remind everyone of some quick tips to ensure everyone can enjoy the day safely. The kitchen is the heart of the home, especially at Thanksgiving. Kids love to be involved in holiday preparations. Safety in the kitchen is important, especially on Thanksgiving Day when there is a lot of activity and people at home. According to the National Fire Protection Association there are some key tips to keep everyone safe this holiday season.

• Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stove top so you can keep an eye on the food.
• Stay in the home when cooking your turkey and check on it frequently.
• Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay 3 feet away.
• Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.
• Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags.
• Keep knives out of the reach of children.
• Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child.
• Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children — up high in a locked cabinet.
• Never leave children alone in room with a lit a candle.
• Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.

Happy Thanksgiving Day from the entire Energy in Depth family to yours!

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