Grand’ther Baldwin’s Thanksgiving is a collection of his writings, most of which had previously been published earlier in various periodicals. Several, such as "Carving a Name, " "Where is My Boy Tonight?", "Last Words, " "Song of the Croaker, " and others, achieved considerable vogue and were reprinted in school readers and also in the ‘reciters’ that were popular for home entertainment during Alger’s time. "John Maynard, " a ballad of a heroic sailor that first appeared in the January, 1868 issue of "Student and Schoolmate, " was tremendously popular and quickly became a standard presentation at scholastic oratory contests.