USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > Suffield > Celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Suffield, Connecticut, October 12, 13 and 14, 1920, with sketches from its past and some record of its last half century and of its present > Part 6
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perils, yet will they achieve their purpose if they are steadfast in faith. With these words The Stranger disappears as myste- riously as he came.
The decision to go to America is then taken and Robinson appoints Miles Standish one of the leaders. Again the Pilgrims pray for guidance in this new venture and the scene closes with Robinson leading off his flock.
INTERLUDE I. THE WILDERNESS
Characters
THE MIST School children of Suffield and West Suffield
THE BREEZE Miss Grace Hastings
THE WEST WINDS School children of Suffield and W. Suffield
INDIAN HUNTERS Elliot Hastings, Hugh Greer, Harry Warren THE PINE TREE Mr. LeRoy Creelman THE OAK TREE Mr. George Creelman THE MAPLE TREE Mr. Kirk Jones STORM Mr. Ralph Raisbeck
FROST
Mr. Myron H. Van Wormer Mr. Eric Provost
SNOW
Rev. E. Scott Farley Mr. D. F. Sisson
THE STRANGER
A PURITAN PREACHER
A BAND OF INDIANS
INDIANS. Raymond Dexter, Charles Mulligan, Robert Sack- ett, Ronald Dickson, Ralph Crain, Raymond Townsend, Charles Nielson, Warren Bunnette, Edmund Thain, Matthew Walker, Stuart Kleinert, Charlton Bolles, Edward Lockwood, Charles O'Connor, Malcolm Pearce, Adolph Stage, George Heris, Dennis Patterson, Herbert Wells, Henry Stoddard.
INDIAN HUNTERS. Lloyd Sloan, Hugh Greer, Elliot Graham. MIST AND WEST WINDS. Ethelyn Fitzgerald, Mabelle War- ner, Jessie Maznicki, Kostek Krupienski, George Brown, Frank Krusinski, Muriel Whitman, Kathryn Fuller, Mae Adams, Bea- triceChaplin, Frederick Bidwell, HelenMaznicki, Francis Keohane, Elderia Bell, Eleanor Phelps, Catherine Spencer, Florence Warner, Hazel Sparks, Harold Sparks, Margaret Raisbeck, Fred Gillette, Annie Mazeska, Henry Mazeska, Louise Albert, Douglas O'Brien, Helen Truesdell, Winfield Gregg, Charles Fuller, Madeline John- son, Laureen Fuller, Norma Wilbur, Frank Smith, Edward Makjeska, Howard Gillette, William Ratkavatz, Walter Rat- kavatz, Edward Graboski, Elizabeth Webalier, Henry Sobienski, John Shawley, Margaret Dineen, Isabelle Hollack, Sophie Al- bert, Anna Kraiza, William Pinney, Paul Donnelly, Donald Ber- cury, Bella Ruthkowsky, Edward Donnelly, Marjorie Reid, An-
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thony Carney, John Zubowsky, Jerry Hayes, Staffie Bulawski, Rosie La Fountain, Gertrude Phelps, Lois Adams, Ralph Zace, Lucille Morton, Thelma Adams, Victoria Birtch, Steve Oso- wieski, Mary Osowieski, Russell Adams, Joe Zera, Stella Die- ninski, Joe Goodrich, Julia Czertarik, Vincent Horanzy, Stanley Horanzy, Eleanor Smith, Jessie O'Brien, Ada Halloway, Mary Cusick, Sidney Jones, Thomas Eagleson, Lawrence Nicholson, Louis Rickey, Curtis Warner, Kathryn Fuller, Marion Jacobs, James Jones, Frank Janik, Philip Koster, Charles Clement, Eloise Warner, Lillian Warner, Evelyn Spencer, Eloise Hauser, James Valenski, George Chaplin, Joseph Lowe, Grace Bridge, Edmund Bercury, Bessie Morton, Jeanette Hart, Tony Sheaha, Dominica Urbanowski, Mary Civickla, Mildred Johnson, Jennie Majeska, Annie Denro, Theresa Seeley, Eunice Brown, Hattie Brewster, Gladys Bessett, Edward Miller, Agnes Morahan, Dorothy Fuller, Lottie Denski, William Miller, Lillian Hollo- way, Samuel Biggerstaff, Allawishes Cynoski, Mildred Smith, Evelyn Phelps, Celia Organek, Stafamia Janik, Elizabeth Phelps, Lavinia Raisbeck, Edward Maleski, Victoria Maleski, Helen Majeska, Stanley Avias, Sophie Zavisa, Helen Alfano, Frank Baron, Harold Johnson, Tony Ciak, Elsa Belden, John Bercury, William Brackoneski, Ruth Chapel, Anna Cooper, Jennie Crow- ley, Michael Civikla, Joseph Cynoski, Elizabeth Devine, Mar- garet Eagleson, Myra Ford, Nellie Fuller, Doris Gantz, Leland Gardner, Anna Gales, Ada Holloway, Helen Holloway, Barbara Jesse, Leo Kulas, Klemens Lucas, Felka Marnicki, Richard Mier, Katherine Monahan, Doris Nicholson, Mae Parsons, Katherine Prophet, Mamie Pysg, Elliot Sikes, Gertrude Swa- lek, Norman Thompson, Anna Turek, Victoria Wallace, Roland White, Miriam Greenwood, Richard Koster, Robert Alcorn, William Jackson, Virginia Brewster, Lester Hart, Ralph Ander- son, Norman Brown, Lewis Belden, Agnes Barnack, Mildred Denley, Dorothy Hayes, Gladys Thorne, Meade Alcorn, Sumner Adams, Kenneth Adams, John Leahey, Merlyn Adams, Thomas Blake, Daniel Barnett, Alvia Toplin, Helen Oppenheimer, Ade- laide Toplin, Hazel Chapman, Evangeline Barresford, Catherine Donnelly, Helen Zako, Doris Sparks, Irene Brown, Henry Mc- Gourn, Marjorie Orr, Dorothy Case, Nellie Gifford, Kenneth Orr, Thomas Carmody, Leverne Root, Charles Markiel, John Biggerstaff, John Lennon, Walter Sheridan, Henry King, John Carroll, Felix Markiel, Edward Phelps, Alexander Baker, James Weldon, Burton Root, Douglas Adams, Howard Lillie, Eunice Root, Sophie Harreson, Alphonso Zenesky, Rose McGourn, Pearl Edwards, Estella Edwards, Margaret White, John Don- nelly, George Zukowski, Beatrice Orr, Mary Kahl, Nellie Zera, Janice Orr, Stewart Adams, Elinor Adams, Celia Romano, Helen
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Karpinski, Chester Felkoski, Elina Covington, Junior Root, Ruby Collins, Oliver Oppenheimer, Harry Falkouski, Donald Root, Alec Harpenski, Francis Prekop, Joseph Skrouski, Charles Weldon, Frank Bidwell, Steven Bienenski, William Barnett, Stanford Deno, John Orr, Howard Colson, James Barnett, Lewis Champigny, Earnest Case, Antoinette Markel, Anna Lennon, Irene Champigny, Anastasia Sheridan, Lucille Case, Ethel Smith, Agnes Gilligan, Mae Biggerstaff, Marjorie Pinney, Rosaline Col- son, Evelyn Orr, Jennie Sheridan, Grace Taylor, Nettie Bud- dington, Dorothy Deering, Anna Prekop, Annie Smith, Ethel Griffin, Eva Bidwell, Mary Colson, Mildred Orr, Winnie Willson, Louise Kuras, Tafila Kuras, Marion Rouelle, Mary Rague, Ida Beckwith, Elizabeth Southergill, Lucy Smith, Ethel Warner, Muriel Fitzgerald, Agnes Gilligan, Annie Zeneski, Conception Ganzaley, Helen Weldon.
An open space along the fringes of the great forest on the banks of the Connecticut. Slowly a cloud of mist rolls over the foregrounds. Above, the trees tower up. The Breeze comes and gently blows the mist away. Some Indian hunters pass in search of game.
A Pine Tree rebukes the Oak and Maple for permitting mor- tals easily to pass through the wilderness. The Oak replies that it is not from these mortals-the Indian hunters-that the trees have anything to fear, but the Breeze has brought news of an- other race of white men who use whole forests in the building of their towns.
Alarmed by these tidings, the Pine Tree calls upon Storm, Frost, and Snow to come to the aid of the wilderness against the white men. These spirits all pledge their aid, willing to unite against the common enemy.
The Stranger, however, appears and it seems he can speak the language of the trees. He tells the trees that their efforts will be in vain, for the white men have come to found a kingdom greater than any the wilderness knows. The Stranger vanishes, leaving the trees murmuring among themselves.
The scene ends with a band of Indians coming into the forest to make a camp. A Puritan preacher, bearing in his hands the Bible, comes among the Indians and is well received by them. Thus the trees of the forest see for the first time a white man.
PEOPLE AT THE PAGEANT, Two Views of 7000 Spectators, Upper, From the East Side, and Lower From the West.
The Breeze in the Forest tells the Red Men of the Coming White Men
Major Pynchon Reading the Treaty to Pampunkshat and Minouasques
The Stranger Urging the Pilgrims to Voyage to the New World
-
The First Town Meeting, Major Pynchon Presiding
Benjamin Franklin Surveying the Post Route Through Suffield
Capt. Elihu Kent and Minute Men Hear the Lexington Alarm
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EPISODE I. THE EARLY DAYS OF SUFFIELD
Scene I. The Founding of Suffield, 1670.
Characters
PAMPUNKSHAT, an Indian Chieftain MINOUASQUES, an Indian Princess
Mr. Allen Sikes
Mrs. James Eagelson
A RUNNER
MAJOR PYNCHON
SAMUEL MARSHFIELD
SAMUEL HARMON
NATHANIEL HARMON
JOSEPH HARMON
ZERUBBABEL FILER
ROBERT OLDS
Mr. Sherwood Allen Mr. Samuel Barriesford Mr. Howard F. Russell Mr. Charles R. Latham Mr. David L. Brockett Mr. George A. Harmon Mr. Hubert Scott
Mr. Thomas F. Cavanaugh THE STRANGER Rev. E. Scott Farley Indian warriors, settlers, and their wives and children.
The Indian chieftain, Pampunkshat, laments to the Princess Minouasques the encroachment of the white men upon the hunt- ing grounds. He is debating whether to sell the lands, as the white men wish, or to make war upon the intruders. The prin- cess counsels peace, because she recognizes that resistance to the weapons of the white man is useless. Reluctantly, Pam- punkshat consents to sell.
A runner announces the coming of Major Pynchon and the settlers. The latter enter and Major Pynchon reads the terms of the treaty by which the land is to be bought. Contemptuous of the white men's bargaining, Pampunkshat accepts the offered thirty pounds in gold, and, after signing a mark to the document, smokes the pipe of peace with Major Pynchon. The Indians then depart in sadness.
The Major and his settlers thereupon begin to apportion the lands and to lay out the limits of the town. The Stranger appears to warn the settlers that only by labor and courage will they be able to achieve their task. Major Pynchon is sur- prised at the coming of this unknown and takes him for some itinerant preacher carrying the Gospel of the Indians. When The Stranger has gone, Major Pynchon leads in prayer and asks a blessing on the town his followers have come to found in the wilderness.
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Scene 2. Suffield in King Philip's War, 1675.
Characters
HEZEKIAH, the Boatman,
Mr. George A. Martinez
SAMUEL HARMON
LAUNCELOT GRANGER
MAJOR PYNCHON
Mr. Charles R. Latham Mr. Watson L. Holcomb Mr. Samuel Barriesford Mr. T. J. Nicholson
MEDICINE MAN
STORM FROST
SNOW
THE PINE TREE
THE OAK TREE
THE MAPLE TREE
THE STRANGER
Mr. Ralph Raisbeck Mr. Myron H. Van Wormer Mr. Eric Provost Mr. LeRoy Creelman Mr. George Creelman Mr. Kirk Jones Rev. E. Scott Farley Horace Smith
A YOUTH
Settlers, Indian warriors of King Philip.
Song, by Miss Grace Hastings.
SETTLERS. Frank King, Robert Edwards, Judson L. Phelps, Henry Roche, Frank Zudowski, Frank Ford, Ralph Ford, Clarence Towne, Nelson A. Talmadge.
Hezekiah, the Boatman, arrives to take some of Samuel Har- mon's beaver skins down the river to the market. He speaks of the rumors of an Indian uprising, but Harmon makes light of Hezekiah's fears. It is true that word has come of King Philip's attacks upon the Rhode Island plantations. Harmon, however, does not believe that the Indian chieftain, King Philip, will come as far as Suffield, for the settlers have always lived on good terms with the Indians in this vicinity. Harmon, nevertheless, feels it is his duty to report what he has heard to Major Pynchon.
The latter decides to take such steps as are possible to put the little settlement in a state of defence. The Medicine Man of the Indians now comes in and calls upon the spirits of the Wilderness, Storm, Frost, Snow, and the Forest Trees, to aid the red men in their work of destruction. In vain The Stranger warns the Medicine Man that the white men will conquer the spirits of barbarism.
A youth, escaping from the pursuing Indians, staggers in and falls at Major Pynchon's feet. A moment after the Indians begin their attack. The settlers, surrounding their women and children, are compelled to flee. The Indians, in triumph, de- stroy by fire the town.
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Scene 3. The First Suffield Town Meeting, 1682.
Characters
THE STRANGER
THE PINE TREE
THE TOWN CRIER
MAJOR PYNCHON
TOWN CLERK
FIRST TOWNSMAN
SECOND TOWNSMAN
SAMUEL KENT
ANTHONY AUSTIN
SAMUEL MARSHFIELD
LUKE HITCHCOCK
SELECTMEN THOMAS REMINGTON
JOHN BARBER Townsfolk of Suffield.
Mr. S. R. Spencer Mr. P. D. Lillie
The Stranger tells the Pine Tree that the Wilderness has now been conquered. The Pine Tree acknowledges the defeat. Then the Town Crier enters to proclaim the first town meeting.
Major Pynchon and the townsfolk assemble and the major presides. After the call for the meeting has been read, the transaction of business is begun. First, five selectmen are elected. Anthony Austin is chosen clerk. Major Pynchon ap- points Samuel Marshfield, of Springfield, land measurer for the ensuing year. Luke Hitchcock is made sealer for leather. Upon the question of fixing the statute date for the next town meet- ing, two of the settlers have a dispute which is, however, amicably settled by the intervention of Major Pynchon.
With the appointment of Mr. Trowbridge as schoolmaster the meeting ends. The Stranger shows how the white men have brought law and order into the Wilderness.
INTERLUDE II. THE STRUGGLE OF FREEDOM, 1776. Characters
A COLONIST Mr. Howard R. Sheldon HIS WIFE THEIR CHILD Miss Helen Cavanaugh Beatrice Caldwell TAX COLLECTOR Mr. William E. Culver TYRANNY Mr. Harold K. Perkins THE STRANGER Rev. E. Scott Farley A company of Red Coats, and a band of Embattled Farmers.
Rev. E. Scott Farley Mr. LeRoy Creelman Mr. John L. Wilson Mr. Samuel Barriesford Mr. William J. Wilson
Mr. George L. Warner Mr. Clinton D. Towne Mr. Frank Kent Mr. James N. Root Mr. Howard F. Russell Mr. Bernie E. Griffin
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FARMERS. William H. Orr, Burton R. Spear, S. L. Wood, Frank S. Briggs, Forrest M. Spear, Allen McCann, Richard M. Loomis, Samuel A. Graham, John O'Malley, Andrew Sweat- land, Ernest Warner, Clarkin Collins, Robert Greer, Thomas Greer, Walter Greer, Robert McCann, Hanford Taylor, Herbert Warren, Bert Holcomb.
RED COATS. Morgan Stratton, Merton Stratton, Judah Phelps, Roy Briggs, Frank McCann, Hugh Greer, Ralph Pome- roy, Joe Claudell, Samuel Orr, Jr., George Greer.
The action of this interlude is in pantomime. It foreshadows, symbolically, the cause of the Revolutionary War.
A Colonist, his wife, and child, are supposedly sitting peace- fully by their hearthstone. There comes to them a Tax Col- lector, with the demand for the payment of an unjust tax. .
The Colonist refuses, in spite of the Collector's threats.
The latter goes, only to return with Tyranny and a company of Red Coats. Again the Colonist refuses the demand for the tax, whereupon Tyranny commands the Red Coats to seize the Colonist and bind him. The Stranger is, however, a witness to the scene. He rushes out and summons the host of Embattled Farmers. They, with their flintlocks, drive away Tyranny and his Red Coats, and set the Colonist free. The scene ends to the strains of "Yankee Doodle."
EPISODE II. THE REVOLUTION
Scene I. Benjamin Franklin surveys a road through Suffield.
Characters
A PEDDLER
FIRST TOWNSWOMAN
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
DICCON, his assistant
Mr. H. Leslie Pomeroy Mrs. A. B. Crane Mr. A. B. Crane Karl Koehler
THE STRANGER Rev. E. Scott Farley
Townswomen and men of Suffield.
TOWNSMEN AND WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF SUFFIELD. Mrs. Thomas Cavanaugh, Mrs. Herman Ude, Mrs. William Cusick, Miss Mary Quinn, Mrs. Francis Collins, Miss Ruth Anderson, Mrs. William M. Cooper, Mrs. Sara Street, Mrs. Edward Per- kins, Miss Helen Knox, Miss Barbara Collins, Miss Mildred Caldwell, Miss Marjorie Adams, Miss Cora Adams, Mrs. H. A. Lorenz, Miss Verna Anderson, Mrs. Samuel A. Graham, Mrs. Matthew Leahey, Mrs. George Sheldon, Mrs. George B. Wood- ruff, Mrs. George Hastings, Mrs. F. S. Bidwell, Jr. Mrs. Benoni Thompson, Mr. Benoni Thompson, Mr. William Barnett, Mr.
General Washington Addressing the Townspeople
A Minuet in Honor of Washington About to Depart on His Way
The Colonists Resist Tyranny and the Redcoats
Discussing the News of the Civil War
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Max Wever, Mr. Otto Wever, Mr. George Hastings, Mr. Francis Collins, Mr. Herbert Stiles, Mr. Eddie Koehler, Ruth Sheldon, Ruth Lillie, Lu Anna Phelps, Grace Taylor, Doris Nickolson, Elberta Lillie, Florence King, Esther Farrell, Miss Jennette Martinez, Miss Grace Martinez.
A peddler appears in Suffield with a stock of cheap trinkets. When he proclaims his wares as imported English goods, the women refuse to buy. Nothing abashed, the peddler confesses they are all Connecticut made and that his description had been added as a trick of the trade. He likewise offers a patent medi- cine, the formula of an old alchemist, and he is more successful in selling this.
Benjamin Franklin, with his surveying party, happens along and rebukes the peddler as a mountebank. Franklin informs the women that temperate living is the best medicine. They offer him refreshments, which he gladly accepts.
The Stranger enters and falls into conversation with Franklin. They discuss the growing difficulties with the mother country, and Franklin points out that the oppression of the colonies is caused by the political stupidity of the English government and not by the English people. He fears, however, that if the poli- ticians do not learn common sense that war will come. Both agree that hateful as war is, it is sometimes the only way in which men can secure justice for themselves.
The scene closes with Franklin continuing his survey further down the road.
Scene 2. The Lexington Alarm, 1775.
Characters
FIRST TOWNSMAN Mr. Harold E. Hastings
HIS NEIGHBOR Mr. George F. Holloway CAPTAIN ELIHU KENT, of the Minute Men Mr. Frank W. Orr MISTRESS MARGERY Miss Jennie Raisbeck
A TORY Mr. Winfield Loomis
AN ELDERLY TOWNSMAN Mr. Albert A. Brown
SECOND TOWNSWOMAN Mrs. William Pomeroy Mr. Charles R. Brome
A HORSEMAN
Townsfolk and Minute Men of Suffield.
The First Townsman is discussing with his Neighbor the closing of the port of Boston. The Neighbor speaks of the company of Minute Men, under Captain Kent, that Suffield
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has secretly raised. It seems that there are but few Tories in town, the air of the place not being favorable for their political complexions.
Mistress Margery, a patriotic lady, presents Captain Kent with a New England Pine Tree flag. There is, however, one Tory present who is a witness of this ceremony. He upbraids Captain Kent as a rebel and traitor. Kent replies that "re- sistance to tyranny is obedience to God," and, while placing the Tory under arrest, protects him from the violence of the townsmen who regard a rope as the best answer to the Tory's arguments.
After the Tory has been led away, several townsfolk offer Kent their savings as contributions to the cause. At this point a horseman rides in upon a spent horse, with the news of Lexington. Food and a fresh horse are given him, while Kent calls out the minute men. The scene closes with the departure of Kent's company for Boston. The Stranger watches them go.
Scene 3. Suffield welcomes the victorious General Washington.
Characters
FIRST SELECTMAN
SECOND SELECTMAN
THE SCHOOLMASTER
Mr. Egerton Hemenway Mr. Fred Scott, Jr. Mr. H. S. Chapman
THE PARSON The Rev. Jesse F. Smith Mrs. Fred Deno
FIRST SELECTMAN'S WIFE
GENERAL WASHINGTON Mr. Charles S. Bissell HIS STAFF, Mr. E. M. White, Mr. Harry C. Warner, Mr. John Raisbeck, Mr. James H. Prophett, Mr. Charles R. Brome. Townsfolk of Suffield.
FLOWER MAIDENS. Gladys Taylor, Hattie Ford, Dorothy Kent, Mildred Gregg, Muriel Reed, Dorothy Hauser, Mrs. Van Derhule, Isabelle Bawn, Caroline Hauser, Lois Merrill, Beth Morris, Bertha Phelps, Nellie Quinn, Ruth Taylor, Catherine O'Connor, Anna Cain, Anna Wiedeker, Margie Thompson, Lillian Fisher, Marion Fuller, Marion Henshaw, Doris Bridge, Grace Morrison, Isabelle Taylor, Emily Whalen, Leslie Holla- way, Jennie Pearl, Loranie Taylor, Roslyn Colson, Marjorie Beach, Jennie Sheridan, Rhoda Campbell, Lillian Zimmerman, Mary Dayton.
The First Selectman is worried over his address of welcome which he must deliver upon the arrival of General Washington. The Second Selectman wishes included a reference to the heavy
1
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taxes which the War of Independence has laid upon the people. . He is told that in a time of victory everyone should rejoice and keep the worry over taxes for later consideration. The school- master is eager to add some figures of speech to the Selectman's address-say a comparison of General Washington to an eagle, and the States to Phoenixes new risen from the ashes of war. The Selectman suggests that the Schoolmaster make whatever additions he considers appropriate, provided he does not use words that are too long. The Parson likewise desires to insert an appropriate text. The Selectman's wife adds to his troubles by a desire to present General Washington with a bouquet of flowers. The Schoolmaster agrees that this may be done, since the chariots of the Roman emperors were decked with flowers on the days of their triumphs.
The speech is finally settled when General Washington and his staff arrive. The young girls throw rose petals in his path, and all Suffield turns out to welcome him with flags and garlands.
The Selectman delivers his speech, to which Washington makes generous reply, pointing out the noble part the town of Suffield has borne in the struggle for independence.
The scene concludes with the departure of Washington after a country dance and general merry-making have been held in his honor.
INTERLUDE III. THE STRUGGLE WITHIN, 1861
Characters
ABRAHAM LINCOLN Mr. Allen P. Phillips
THE STRANGER Rev. E. Scott Farley GROUP OF SLAVES. Mr. Oscar Chamberlain, Mrs. Julia Brown,
Mrs. Susan Wrenn, Miss Virginia Rice, Mr. Jerry Hayes, Mrs. Matilda Hayes, Saidee Johnson, Mr. Ephraim Dunston, Mae Lockett, Bailey Lockett, Virginia Brewster, Barbara Jesse.
An old plantation melody is heard in the distance. A group of slaves from a Southern cotton plantation enter singing. They carry with them baskets of cotton. As they pass across the stage, the figure of Abraham Lincoln appears. He seems lost in thought. The Stranger comes to him and questions him. Lincoln muses upon the problem of slavery-the injustice which compels a race to live in bondage. The Stranger goes, having
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planted in Lincoln's mind the feeling that this injustice must soon be grappled with.
EPISODE III. THE CIVIL WAR, 1861-1865
Scene I. The news comes to Suffield of the attack on Fort Sumter, April, 1861.
Characters
FIRST TOWNSMAN Mr. F. S. Bidwell, Jr.
SECOND TOWNSMAN
The Rev. Father Hennessey
THIRD TOWNSMAN Mr. Daniel J. Sweeney
FOURTH TOWNSMAN Mr. R. N. Buffen
TELEGRAPH BOY Normand Thompson
A CITIZEN, admirer of Major Anderson Mr. Thomas Couch Townsfolk of Suffield.
TOWNSFOLK OF SUFFIELD. Mary Cooper, Mrs. Carrie Sutton, Margaret Hatheway, Edna Pomeroy, Frances Seymour, Ruth Remington, Mrs. Minnie Thompson, Mrs. Clifford Prior, Mrs. Terry Chapin, Mrs. Thomas Couch, Mrs. Joseph Claudell, Mr. Christopher Michels, Mrs. Leroy Creelman, Mrs. Charles Kurvin, Miss Alice Sheldon, Mrs. Jennie Hazard, Miss Catherine Ken- nedy, Miss Mary Kennedy, Miss Celia Kennedy, Mrs. William Pinney, Miss Edna Pinney, Mr. Arthur Beach, Mr. Alfred Spen- cer, Mrs. Alfred Spencer, Mr. Adolph Koster, Alice Link, Edith Whitman, Mr. Frank Kearns, Mrs. Frank Kearns, Mr. Harry Kehoe, Mrs. Harry Kehoe, Robert Greer, Thomas Greer, Wal- ter Greer, Flora Campbell, Helen Campbell, Mrs. Charles Prout, Milton Beach, Harold Beach, Mr. Alfred Sheldon, Mr. and Mrs. Morton Merrill, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Austin, Mrs. Thatcher Belfit, Miss Lylia Woodruff, Mrs. Clinton Towne, Mrs. Eger- ton Hemengway, Calvin Parks, Leroy Parks, Anna Clement Mrs. Belden, Miss Elberta Prout, Eunice Greenwood, Mrs. Weston Stiles, Mr. G. M. Montgomery.
The Townsmen are discussing the crisis confronting the coun- try. All New England is busy helping runaway slaves to escape via what was known as "the underground railway"-a secret organization for hiding fugitives. The crisis has become acute by the demand of South Carolina that Major Anderson evacuate Fort Sumter. One townsman is of the opinion that to surrender Fort Sumter is the only way to avoid civil war. According to him, the surrender would appease the anger of the South, and the whole question at issue could then be settled by compromise. The others do not agree with him. The question of secession cannot be argued. The Union must be preserved at all costs.
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A compromise which involves hauling down the flag from Fort Sumter is not worth having.
From the telegraph offices comes the news of the attack on Sumter and of Major Anderson's heroic resistance. Suffield is in an uproar of patriotic fervor. An admiring citizen sings a famous song in honor of Major Anderson. Even the townsman who advocated surrender is converted. The scene closes to the singing of "John Brown's Body."
Scene 2. President Lincoln issues a call for volunteers, 1861.
Characters
FIRST TOWNSMAN
Mr. F. S. Bidwell, Jr.
SECOND TOWNSMAN
The Rev. Father Hennessey
THIRD TOWNSMAN Mr. Daniel J. Sweeney
READER OF THE PROCLAMATION Mr. Gilbert W. Phelps
A VETERAN OF THE MEXICAN WAR Mr. Anthony P. Kulas A DRUMMER BOY Mr. Malcolm Pearse Two TOWNSWOMEN Miss Emma Newton, Mrs. Alfred Sheldon. Townsfolk of Suffield, and recruits.
RECRUITS. Fred Beach, Waldo Ford, Harold Hinckley, Charles Graham, Everett King, Henry Seymour, Raymond Cannon, Alfred Cannon, Henry Raisbeck, Sidney Patterson, Francis Warner, Leslie Martinez, Howard Barnett, Harold Brown, Donald Brown, Harold Beach, Frank Creelman, Leland King, Elton Halladay, Raymond Fisher, Harold Phelps.
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