In many ways, Thanksgiving in Maine in 1925 looked much the same as it does now: People gathered for turkey dinners, traveled to see family and hosted visits with friends.

But there were also large dances with live music, fancy outfits and weddings to mark the holiday — a level of celebration not seen at most Thanksgiving celebrations these days.

President Calvin Coolidge’s proclamation for Nov. 26, 1925, encouraged Americans to give thanks for the nation’s blessings, including peace at home and abroad, good public health, and harvests and industries rich in productivity.

Archives of local newspapers offer a glimpse at how Mainers prepared for and celebrated Thanksgiving in 1925.

WHAT PEOPLE WERE EATING

In November 1925, Ladies Home Journal published “An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Dinner” menu that, in many ways, looks similar to traditional dinners served in many households in more recent decades. It including roast stuffed turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce.

But tables also included dishes that are much less common these days: clear tomato consommé, spinach timbales (essentially a spinach custard), hearts of lettuce with French dressing and bonbons.

At Reed’s Market on Free Street in Portland, shoppers could pick up two cans of corn for 25 cents, 10 pounds of sugar for 58 cents and Gold Medal flour for $1.29. If they weren’t in the mood for turkey, legs of winter lamb were going for 25 cents per pound, and sliced ham was 30 cents per pound.

For those serving a traditional Thanksgiving bird, locally raised Sprague’s Farm turkeys were available at Lyman B. Chipman Pure Foods Store on Congress Street.

“Out on Ram Island Farm in Cape Elizabeth 300 Turkeys have been raised and fatted for the tables of lucky Portland people. These birds have had the range of 500 acres and have lived a pleasant, care-free life as all Turkeys intended for the table should,” read an ad published on Nov. 20 in the Evening Express under the headline “This Flock of Maine raised Turkeys Has been Fattened for your Table.”

WHAT THEY WERE WEARING

Local shops were eager to draw in customers ahead of Thanksgiving, promising great deals on everything from silverware to Swiss watches.

At Porteous Mitchell & Braun Co. in Portland, there was a “wonderful” selection of street and party dresses on sale for $25, according to an ad published in the Portland Evening Express on Nov. 20, 1925. Fur trimmed coats were $65, and fancy garters started at 50 cents.

The department store encouraged women to think about accessories for their Thanksgiving outfits: “These little things do make a difference, for rightly chosen they add much to the appearance of the costume,” the ad boasted. Shoulder flowers — “fashion’s final touch of smartness on cost or dress” — ranged from 50 cents to $1.50.

The John J. Desmond Co. in Bath encouraged men to get a new overcoat for Thanksgiving. “Look your best this day of days,” read an ad published in The Times Record. The “extra-value” prices started at $25.

WHO WAS VISITING

Long before the advent of social media, newspapers provided plenty of fodder about what your neighbors were up to. It was common for social notes to detail people’s travels, hospital stays and major life events.

On Thanksgiving morning, the Press Herald dedicated a full page, rimmed with ornate illustrations of turkeys, to the social plans of Portland residents. Many had family or friends visiting from out of state.

Mr. Enoch W. Hunt threw a family party and dinner for four generations at his home on Neal Street. The youngest guest was 6-year-old Priscilla Ruth, while the eldest was the host himself, who was “84 years young,” the paper reported.

Thanksgiving also marked the wedding of Gladys Moore and Henry L. Gervais, who were married at 9 a.m. at St. Dominic’s Church. The bride’s parents hosted a breakfast wedding with a performance by Boucher’s Orchestra of Biddeford.

TRAVEL TALES

Traveling for the holiday was a bit of an adventure for Fred Stone and his family, who were headed from Oxford to Lynn, Massachusetts. The account of their Thanksgiving misadventure was recounted in the Sun Journal under the headline, “Oxford man’s car does a jazz into the ditch.”

When the engine of his Ford failed to function, Stone got his neighbor Ellsworth Wheeler to “give him a tow to warm up the sedan’s engine.”

“The operation was not entirely successful because the sedan, with Mr. Stone at the wheel, refused to take the medicine straight, and began to zigzag, first to one side of the road and then to the other,” the story read.

The car crashed into a ditch, but Stone got out without injury. His family soon boarded the next train for Lynn, where they ate turkey.

FESTIVE GATHERINGS

In Augusta, eighth grade students at Smith Grammar School “were made happy” with a pre-Thanksgiving treat of ice cream and cakes courtesy of Charles Kinsman Jr., a class member who had been a patient at Augusta General Hospital for several weeks.

“While in the hospital Charles was not forgotten by his classmates, and fruit, cards, visits and other tokens of their affection were given to him. These Charles appreciated so much that he wished to show his appreciation,” the Sun Journal reported.

Thanksgiving night dances were popular in 1925, with festive gatherings at Winthrop Town Hall and Colby College. In Gardiner, nearly 300 couples packed the dance floor while the Jewett and Curry Orchestra played.

“It was a happy party at the Shrine Club dance at the Shine temple on Thursday evening where the members of that organization held a real old fashioned Thanksgiving Ball,” the Sun Journal reported.