“Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade” (8:30 a.m. Thursday, WPXI) has always been an inherent promotional opportunity for its namesake department store, an effort to jump-start the holiday shopping season.

When November arrives, many Americans turn their thoughts to Thanksgiving—a holiday deeply rooted in the story of the Pilgrims who sailed from the UK to North America aboard the Mayflower in 1620.

Well over 100 years ago, Colorado’s early mining communities celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday in a fashion that most modern mountain dwellers would recognize: a turkey feast with friends and family ...