The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 48

The Pantagraph 2 Sunday, November 24, 1996 Giving thanks throughout the years schedule delays. For fun, read Dave Letterman's Top 10, '90s job: Webmaster By Knight-RidderTribuno Service CHICAGO Webmaster is a recently coined word to describe a knowledge worker who puts an "electronic face on organizations and individuals" by designing Web sites for the Internet, says Claudia Allen of the National Association of not repeated. Pilgrims later forgot the help they received from the Indians. Though the Pilgrims themselves were religious refugees seeking freedom to worship the way they wanted, they began telling the Indians their religion was wrong. Tensions increased and things heard at Thanksgiving Day parades.

Gobble up a recipe for furmenty, an Indian pudding. i Ever wonder where the tradition comes for By SCOTT RICHARDSON Pantagraph staff The Internet can flavor your Thanksgiving holiday with history and fun. Start with An American Thanksgiving. Read about that first feast held in 1621, a year after the breaking a wishbone. The answer is here.

Surprisingly, Pilgrims had nothing to do with it Credit the ancient people called the Etr-i' uscans three centuries before Christ believed the birds could tell the future be-n cause they cackled just prior to laying an egg: (I do not make this up.) The Etruscans would draw a circle in within a few years, the same people who feasted together were killing each other in what became known as the King Phillip Wars. Take a tour of the Plimoth (Plymouth) Plantation to see how the Pilgrims lived. Find songs, poems and games. There's also a preview Colleges and Employers Mayflower landed at Plymouth, Mass. Times were tough.

More than half of the original party died over the first winter because Pilgrims lacked skills and supplies to cope with the New World. Indians found them in spring and took pity, bringing them needed deer meat and beaver skins. One stayed with them http:www.pantagraiih.ccD in Bethlehem, Pa. And, she adds, it's "one of the hottest new jobs in corporate America." "Webmasters build and JffjC and taught them how to hunt, grow JpL corn, find clams, harvest maple svruP build Indian-style shel- they invited the Indian to share a feast. Hp arrivpH with 90 rel- ZjL 7 atives.

The Indians realized TJ the need and spread through- dirt, putting the 24 letters of their alphabet around the edges' with a corn kernel on each. The bird would spell out answers -to questions, they thought, like the first letter it ate fromj'' would match the letter of a husband to be. The bird was sac-1 1 rificed and the breast bone hung to dry. Two people would' have the chance to make a wish while breaking it. The hold-'' er of the longer was considered the lucky one, which origi-' nated the saying, "a lucky break." ii Heather's Holidaze is always a great place to visit children.

A little girl designs the Web site with HTML help from her parents. Try to find Tom Turkey. When you do, you can help decide his fate, whether to eat him, free him or keep him as a pet. When Outta Sites visited, Tom should have been making out a will. Butterball Online is the answer to your holiday cooking, needs.

Read carving tips and how to cook a picture-perfect, bird; grilling ideas; recipes for everything from stuffing to gravy; and take part in an online survey for a chance to win a camcorder to record your next holiday. The only thing missing is the Pepto. of the DallasWashington professional football game to air on Thanksgiving Day. The site contains a copy of the first Thanksgiving Day proclamation of the First Continental Congress made in 1782 to set a day aside to "offer up their supplications to Almighty God, the giver of all good and to give him praise for goodness in general." Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving statement made in 1863 during the height of the Civil War is a sadder reminder. "We have forgotten God.

We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace." Lest we forget who made certain Pilgrims were around to celebrate the first Thanksgiving, visit the National Museum of the American Indian, part of the Smithsonian Institution. There's a rundown of exhibits covering more than 10,000 years of native American heritage plus links to other Native American sites online. Gobble It Up is a roundup of Thanksgiving topics. Its history portion points out the first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days. (And, you thought you had troubles feeding the crowd for the holidays.) This site helps you make travel plans and y-svf I out nearby countryside return- iv yfijSj ing with deer, waterfowl and badly, tne site also tens tne rest of the story.

That first Compiled in part by Britt Carlson, New Media coordinator. E-mail pantagra(a pantagraph.com offers ways to cope with the stress of remodel virtual facades home pages, World Wide Web sites, information showcases for companies and institutions on the Internet," says Allen, editor of the association's publication, "1997 Planning Job Choices." The job classification is so new that there are no official skills or work requirements for it But Allen's research shows that Webmasters "know programming and management information systems. Some have a computer background; others, degrees in marketing or English." Many Webmasters are librarians, artists, graphic designers, photographers, engineers and journalists. Most are self-taught Job responsibilities, she says, include writing copy and special software to create Web pages and scanning photos and artwork into the computer. But creating a Web site is just the beginning: Maintenance and updat-' ing also are part of the job.

Many Webmasters got their jobs by default, Allen found. "No one else wanted the job or the person chosen was the only one around who was computer literate," she said. Entry-level salaries are estimated to range from $30,000 to $50,000 a year, depending on the size of the company and the amount of work to be done. Allen says "some sources claim salaries range from $50,000 to $100,000," but she thinks they may be exaggerated. Sites to see An American Thanksgiving http:www.nightnetthanksgiving Heather's Happy Holidaze http:www.shadeslanding.comhmsthanks Gobble It Up htrpwww.kaplan.comholidayturkey.html National Museum http:www.si.edunmai What's online 1- Link to li j- 9 p.m.

Tuesday, 1-3 p.m. today, relax 7 p.m. Tuesday, ABC's braries throughout Illinois on Pantagraph Online at http:www.pantagraph.com. chat with multi-platinum recording artist Mary Chapin Carpenter. "Clueless" actress Elisa Donovan chats in the spotlight.

ation therapist Emmanuel Fauconnier discusses coping with stress using relaxation therapy techniques. If you have or know of a local Web site, we want to know about it. E-mail us at pantagra pantagraph.com Q- rTTTT months ago and began adding help last month. Toys 'R' Us, 1703 E. Empire Bloomington, began planning holiday staffing last summer, said store Director Bill Wil-hide.

The store will double its staff of 40 during the holiday season and is anticipating a 6 percent to 7 percent sales increase over last year. At Sears, Mast said, the store is hiring an additional 40 employees on top of its usual work force of 140. J.C. Penney hired 48 people to complement the store's 100 employees while Bergner's has hired 60 of the 93 additional employees it needs for the holidays, Wootten said. Bergner's permanent employment base is 200.

Von Maur has added 60 employees to its permanent staff of 140. Many of the factory stores still need additional part-time sales help and are working hard to find them, O'Neal said. SHOPPING From E1 fore Christmas seems to contradict the fact that there are five fewer "shopping days" between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. That's one potential fly in the soup. "There are five fewer shopping days, but we gain a couple of days at the end (right before Christmas) which are normally good days," observed Jim Latzke, rhanager of Kmart, 1608 E.

Empire Bloomington. "And our business trends have been going very well," he said. "We're projecting a ihodest increase (in sales) because of the shorter time between Thanksgiving and Christmas (versus) strong sales all year." "Most customers shop according to the Calendar rather than when Thanksgiving falls," Latzke added. "They know Christ Most wanted What are shoppers interested in this holiday season? According to retailers, the interests not surprisingly range from traditional to what's hot right now. At Moberly Klenner, Bass Outlet and J.C.

Penney, sweaters a traditional Christmas gift that's making aj comeback this year are big sellers. Holiday for women and sports-related sweatshirts for men selling at Von Maur. Similarly, computer-related items and home electronf ics again are doing well at Sears. At Casey's Garden n. Shop, custom-made bows, centerpieces and beanie bies, one of the latest crazes, are in demand.

Gift baskets and Godiva chocolates are doing well at The Garlic Press, while Web TV and cellular phones are in demand at Circuit City. At Bergner's, golf-motif sports-1' wear and wide-leg jeans for juniors are big. Video game systems, another perennial favorite, are selling well at Toys 'R' Us, as are 101 Dalmation toys, a new addition with their tie to the much-hyped film by Disney. mas is coming and many have already started shopping." To Robert Wootten, manager of Bergn-er's at Eastland Mall, "The shorter shopping period between Thanksgiving and Christmas puts a strain on us." He estimated only a 2 percent to 3 percent sales increase at Bergner's over last year, adding, "Given the shorter shopping period, we're looking at that as healthy." Other retailers thought the shorter period would have little or no impact, agreeing with Latzke and Wootten that many shoppers already have started. "The majority of customers are going to buy at least as much as they did last year within the shorter time period," Wootten said.

"We have to be totally ready and merchandise the stores with a lot of stock that customers are looking for." Moughler and Dorothy Bushnell, owner of The Garlic Press, 108 W. North St. in downtown Normal, agreed. "People seem to have started shopping earlier this year because they know that Thanksgiving is later," Bushnell said. "I don't think the five days will make much of a difference." "In the past, it hasn't mattered on the number of days," said Michael Thompson, sales manager at Circuit City, 1500 E.

Empire Bloomington. "People have to get their shopping done. The key is to have the merchandise they want." "I'm seeing the shoppers starting earlier this year," agreed Scott Becker, manager of Bass Outlet in the factory stores, who is projecting a 2 percent to 3 percent sales gain over last year. Another potential challenge is finding enough employees to handle the increased business during the holiday season. With that 2.6 percent unemployment rate, local retailers sometimes have trouble finding and keeping the good help they need.

Aware of the challenge, most responded by planning their holiday hiring a couple FEAST do like to go in the afternoon. We've tried to expand our times a little bit, but we haven't had much call for it We didn't get much of a response for your later times or your earlier times. That's a change industrywide. It's gone from the early evening to the early afternoon," said Ortman. The buffet menu contains all the holiday standards, with a twist A separate section contains a selection of kid-friendly foods you won't see pictured in any Norman Rockwell painting.

"We have a separate kids' station with chicken fingers, fish fingers, macaroni and cheese, foods kids like," said Ortman, adding, "It's the third year we've done the kids' station. It was my predecessor's idea. We'd gotten comments that they'd like to see some children's items. And, hey, some adults visit it, too. A lot of them like macaroni and able to assist customers in planning meals.

But for diners with a yen for yams instead of stuffing, sorry, "we don't make substitutions," said Saunders. And it's not just food that Kroger can deliver, Saunders said. Customers can also use the 800 number to order and pay for centerpieces, napkins, cornucopias and fruit baskets to spruce up the holiday table. Georgene Naylor, co-owner of Gracious Affairs Catering in Bloomington, hasn't had many calls for com-' plete Thanksgiving dinners, but she gets a lot of requests for those little things that make a meal memorable. "This year we're getting a lot of calls for hors d'oeuvres and dessert items," Naylor said.

"People are looking for fill-in items to round off their menus, or maybe something a little more labor-intensive than a pumpkin pie, like a pumpkin cheesecake or pumpkin roulade, a pumpkin spongecake with ginger cream filling rolled into a comma (shape)." Robert Freitag, catering manager at Richard's restaurant in downtown Bloomington, said, "We do some deliveries where people will ask us to make a turkey, or do a whole traditional Thanksgiving dinner." "We can go deliver a turkey dinner for a dozen people. But it normally doesn't entail a lot of service work. Thanksgiving is a still a family-oriented holiday. So we don't have servers pouring wine or serving food. It's mostly preparing food for people to serve." Freitag said his customers don't expect an elaborate menu either, just the traditional items: turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.

The Thanksgiving buffet at Richard's will be pretty traditional, too, although Freitag said a seafood item and ham "a bit of variety" will be added. Freitag said Richard's expects to serve 150 to 200 people in three seat-ings on Thanksgiving Day. "It's a mixture. We have a family that comes to the Mother's Day buffet, they come to the Thanksgiving. There's an entire family, 10 to 18 of them.

They just do it as a convenience so mom and grandma don't have to do the cooking." Richard's buffet runs from 10:45 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., mirroring a trend toward earlier Thanksgiving dining noticed by Rob Ortman, food and beverage director at Holiday Inn in Normal. The restaurant's all-you-cgn eat, reservation-required buffet runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the hotel's main ballroom.

"Over the years I've found people If a big plate of mac and cheese doesn't strike you as traditional Thanksgiving fare, probably the food1 at a restaurant known for its pizzas1 wouldn't either. But more and more: people are visiting Sonoma Cucinalri' Bloomington, according Manager Brett Rainwater. nj But while "we'll do a pizza if body wants one," Rainwater said the ovens are used to prepare eithe wood-roasted turkey breast or prime rib of beef with all the trimmings for' an all-you-can-eat buffet, which'ru'nsj from noon to 6 p.m. For those do-it-yourselfers who face hours of preparation followed by hours of washing dishes on Thursda'J," take heart. All the businesses sur veyed are planning to offer Christmas dinners, too.

From El The meals a whole turkey, dressing, gravy, a broccoli and rice casserole, a dozen rolls and a pumpkin pie J- are made in a kitchen that serves he five-state region and are flash-frozen for optimum quality, said Saunders. dinners are prepackaged for the customers' convenience so they can be microwaved to heat them or they can be heated in an oven," she said, adding that 98 percent of the meals are ordered and delivered cold so they can be heated at home. "We ask for 48 hours' advance notice, but we'll always have extras," said Saunders, adding that a toll-free number, 1-800-382-5219, used for ordering has home economists avail pMark D. Johnson SUPER WASH HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY Attorney at Law 00,000 In Cash and Prizes! Healthy Teeth IN fnr ifptimp Criminal DcfenseDUl Bankruptcy DivorceFamily Law Business Law License Reinstatement Real Estate Social Security Injury law 827-3670 1 1 5 w. Jefferson Ste.

i 00 Bloomington Gentle Caring Dentistry for the Entire Family For Your Thanksgiving emergencies. We Will be Open Fru, Nov. 29 Prevent Cavities and QujDseas(i 1 Think About It! I present ims announcement $1000'00 rai'i'im'i'i'iK. a token 5 A NEW 1997 FORD RANGER on your FIRST VISIT to receiye complete DENTAL EXAM including CLEANING and X-RAYS for only Why Have Successful Accountants, Lawyers, Engineers, Teachers And Professionals From All Walks Of Life, Chosen YMMn? Starting In 1970, Over 120 "TNUiWSM. Dealers Operating Fleets Between 1 And 20 Trucks Have Made lN7m.

North America's Third Largest Lawn Care Company As Reported By Landscape Management. If You Are Ready To Own And Manage Your Own Business, And Achieve Your Dream, Then Attend Our Free Seminar At: I L. I I Exp. 197 (color and options may vary) HOLIDAY SPECIAL 4 TOKENS FOR $10 YOU SAVE TOKENS A GREAT HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA! IN BLOOMINGTON: IN NORMAL: Corner of Morrissey Lincoln Next to Sud's Mercedes Veterans Parkway Morris Ave. Across from Steak-n-ShaEe Behind Cub Foods 1 block East of Parkside Veterans Parkway Dental Center Thomas K.

Marxer, D.D.S. General Dentist 2101 N. Veterans Parkway, Ste. 103 Bloomington CALL NOW! 662-6644 Holiday Inn 8 Traders Cir. Normal November 27th 7:30 p.m.

(888)321-WEED.