Winslow Homer was a cartoonist for Harper’s Weekly Magazine and would later gain renown for his illustrations during the Civil War. In 1860, however, his artwork was geared at showing the divide in America at Thanksgiving.  The social disparity in America during the holiday season in the middle of the 19th century is depicted in the following illustration from November 1860.

We can see how upper society celebrated the event on the left side of the illustration. Winslow focused on the working class of American society on the right. Particularly the lower right is pertinent to the experience in the coal region.  On Thanksgiving Day, a filthy, weary man returns from work to his family. Over that time, a lot of the mines in the anthracite coal regions continued to operate during the holidays.  Whereas in the upper part of the image you can see women knitting and getting ready for dinner and men lounging and smoking a pipe.  

Images like this are great for bell ringers or conversation starters for your classroom especially around the holidays.