Two Towns Battle Over Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is usually about coming together, but this year it’s become a historical turf war. Residents of Provincetown, Mass., are currently bent on publicizing the fact that their town was the Pilgrims’ first stop in the U.S., not Plymouth, Mass. where they moved later on. “Plymouth is wonderful, but they were second! We were first,” said the director of Provincetown’s chamber of commerce. The town houses an impressive 252-foot granite tower, a monument to the Pilgrims’ time there, when they began a number of new traditions, including Mondays as laundry day. Provincetown’s defenders also point to the murky-at-best story of a literal Plymouth rock, which is not based on any historical record. “I was kind of amazed. It wasn’t Plymouth Rock, it was actually Provincetown,’’ said a visitor. “What’s all the big hoopla about Plymouth if it was Provincetown? I don’t blame the people here for being a little ticked off.’’