USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Hubbardston > An address, in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Hubbardston, Mass. > Part 6
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This Committee soon after held a meeting and took into consideration the subject, and deeming it advisable to have a larger Committee, directed their Chairman to call an informal meeting of the citizens of the town, to consider the propriety of enlarging the Committee. A call for this meeting was issued by the Chairman, and at the time appointed for the meeting a large number of persons assembled, and much interest was manifested. The Chairman stated the object of the meeting, and after remarks had been made by several other gentlemen, it was decided to add six more names to the Committee.
And thereupon Win. G. Clark, Abel Howe, Horace Underwood, Spencer Prentiss, Luke Williams, Jr., and Moses C. Wheeler, were placed upon the Committee of Arrangements.
The Committee continued to hold meetings by adjournment from time to time till June 12th, when they adjourned sine die, to be called togeth- er again at such time as the Chairman should appoint. .
At these meetings the Committee took measures to secure an Address and Poem, and having engaged a Caterer, and made sneh other arrange-
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ments as they deemed necessary, selected the following gentlemen as Officers of the Day :-
President, LEVI PEIRCE.
Vice Presidents, Col. MOSES WAITE, * Dr. MOSES PHELPS, t Capt. EBENEZER STOW, # MOSES C. WHEELER, ) OREN MAREAN, ABEL HOWE,
To which were afterwards added nearly all the aged gentleman in the town. Chief Marshal, LYMAN WOODWARD.
Assistant Marshals, WaI. H. WITTEMORE, F. P. MORSE, R. II. WAITE, and AsA H. CHURCH.
The School children to be marshaled by the School Committee.
Toast Master, J. C. GLEASON.
Chaplain, Rev. I. B. BIGELOW.
The day preceding the Celebration was remarkably tine. and life and animation pervaded .our village. Two spacious tents had been erected on our Common, under one of which the exercises before dinner were to be performed, and under the other, the dinner, poems, sentiments, re- sponses, and other exercises were to come off. A broad arch spanned the street midway, bearing a hearty welcome to all the returning sons and daughters of old Hubbardston, supported by a smaller arch on each side, spanning the sidewalks. crowned with appropriate devices and mot- tos. All the dwellings along upon Main Street were tastefully decora- ted. and the preparations for the coming day seemed complete.
As the sun descended to the west that afternoon it was obsenred by clonds. and the evening betokened an approaching storm, so that many of our citizens retired that night with feelings of despondeney. lest the festivities of the coming day should be interrupted by the state of the weather ; but a slight sprinkle of rain during the evening had the effect of laying the dust, and rendering the air more salubrious. But as morning dawned, the clouds had departed, and it was emphatically " a morning with clouds."
The sun rose in all its splendor and shone forth upon an unelonded sky, and green fields and meadows, and upon the full foliage of our woodlands and beautiful shade trees. And as the sun made his appear- ance above the horizon, he was greeted with one hundred reports from the open month of the cannon, and the chiming music of our village church bells.
The town was resplendent with flags and evergreens, and everything smiling, as if it had put on its holiday attire, and was extending the
* One of the Selectmen first In 1814, Representative in 1830, and now in the eighty-eighth year of his age.
t One of the selectmen in 1818, Representative In 1828, and now in the eighty-second year of his age.
# One of the Selectinen in 1821, and now In the elghty-seventh year of his age.
ยง The present Board of Selectmen.
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right hand of fellowship and welcoming all to the paternal mansion. At an early hour in the morning groups of little children were seen upon all the roads entering the village, in vehicles and on foot, hurry- ing towards the centre of attraction. And the little children were not alone in their glee, but children of a larger growth joined in the general throng. And the hoary headed, upon whose brows the snows of more than fourseore years had fallen, and had bleached their thin locks to the hue of the drifted snow, and who were now leaning on crutches and staff's, were also making haste to join in the gathering, and persons of all ages and conditions met on one common level and extended the hand of friendship, accompanied with words of welcome to their broth- ers and consins, who were now ponring in from the surrounding towns.
At abont 9 o'clock in the morning the children, under the lead of Horace Underwood. formed in procession near the Star Hotel, and preceded by the Hubbardston Brass Band marched to the Unitarian Cinreh, where they were addressed by Rev. C. W. Allen, Rev. J. M. Stowe, Rev. G. W. Phillips, and others. After the addresses, which were well received by the children, the procession was again formed as before. and marched to Mechanies Hall, where a bountiful supply of refreshments had been provided, and they were then left to enjoy them- selves to the best of their ability.
At about 11 o'clock, A. M., the grand procession formed on the Com- mon, under the lead of the Chief Marshal, Capt. Lyman Woodward, in the following order :-
The Asnaconcomic Lodge of Good Templars. Hubbardston Brass Band. The President of the Day, Orator, and Chaplain. Vice Presidents. The Committee of Arrangements. The Rev. Clergy, Invited Guests, and Representatives of the Press. Citizens of Rutland, Barre, Princeton, and Oakham. Citizens of other Towns. Citizens of Hubbardston.
The procession passed through the village beneath the beautiful shade trees on the easterly side of Main Street, and returned on the westerly side of the street. and entered the Grand Pavilion, on the west- erly side of the Common, where as many of the audience as could be accommodated with seats were thus provided for, while the remainder stood.
The exercises in the tent were, first, Music by the Band; Reading of the following selection of the Scriptures by Rev. S. Saltmarsh of Dor- chester :-
Give ear, O my people to my law ; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will utter dark sayings of old which we have heard and known and our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that He hath
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done. For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children ; that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born ; who should arise and declare them to their children ; that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the words of God, but keep his com- mandments.
( God of hosts, look down from heaven, and behold. and visit this vine, and the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted.
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Peace be within the walls and prosperity within the palaces.
Seeing we also are compassed about by a great cloud of witnesses, let ns lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before ns : looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Greit Shepherd of the sheep, through the power of the everlasting covenant, make yon perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
The President then rose and addressed the assembly as follows :-
FilLow Crrizess,-I congratulate you upon the anspices of this interesting occasion. All nature seems to have arrayed herself in her richest livery to wel- come in this momentous event.
The earth drops sweetness all around And all the air is bahm.
Friends, former residents of the town, in behalf of the citizens I bid yon wel- come back to the old homestead. These rock-bound hills, these green valleys, these meandering streams, all tend to bring vividly before your minds scenes in your childhood days, when you chased the butterfly, and gathered lilies on you- der meadows, or built miniature mill-dams on the little pools of water upou their margin. Though you have been separated from us by many a mile and long, be assured that you have always been missed at home. Oft in the stilly night, and in our more waking hours, the remembrance of some loved and absent friend far away, would, in spite of nature's effort, canse the tear to mubidden fall, but thanks to a kind Providence that so many of our friends have been preserved, and en- abled to come up hither, to mingle their congratulations with ours on this our natal birthday. I bid you thrice welcome to the festivities of this occasion.
The song "Home Again," by the choir. Prayer by the Chaplain.
The following original Hymn was read by Rev. S. Saltmarsh, and sung by the choir :
Since IInbbardston first took its name, An hundred years have passed away, And here from distant homes we came, To celebrate her first birthday.
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We're here because this sacred spot, The old homestead that gave us birth, If left can never be forgot, 'Mid all the changing scenes of earth.
While friendly greetings we extend, And tears of joy unbidden fall, Let songs of Praise to Him ascend, Whose mercy has sustained ns all.
As we look back with mem'ry's eye, And mark the progress of our race, We feel that blessings from on high, Have long been showered upon the place.
And may a holy, hallowed thought, Inspire and cheer each throbbing breast, As we in sadness view the spot Where those old Pilgrim Fathers rest.
Then let us praise our father's God, Who led them here when all was new, Who smoothed the rugged path they trod, And watched them all life's journey through.
After the conclusion of the hymn, Rev. J. M. Stowe, the Orator of the day, was introduced by the President. and for two hours received the undivided attention of the entire audience.
The address was delivered in a bold. firm. clear, and manly tone. and save that the speaker was occasionally interrupted by bursts of ap- planse, silence reigned, and the closest attention was given till the close.
The benediction was pronounced by Rev. G. W. Phillips of Hayden- rille.
The assembly now immediately repaired to the other tent, where the dinner was waiting. After that had been dispatched the Poem was read by Horace Underwood. The President then called for the first regular sentiment, which was announced by the Toast Master as follows :-
1. Old Hubbardston ; old as a hundred years, yet never so young as to-day ! The blessings we to-day possess and enjoy are due to the prudence, perseverance, and patriotism of our Fathers and Mothers. May we ever keep green their memory, press on in the path of progress, and stand as true and firm as her ever- lasting hills.
This sentiment was briefly responded to by Win. Bennett, who related several of the acts and doings of the first settlers of the town, showing their liberal appropriations for educational purposes, and publie im- provements; claiming that these were evidences of their perseverance and patriotism ; and that when these appropriations were withheld it
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was the result of prudence and not parsimony ; and that we had reason to be proud of their record.
2. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
As a response to this sentiment the following letter from IIis Excel- leney ALEXANDER H. BULLOCK, Governor of the Commonwealth, in re- ply to an invitation extended to him to favor ns with his presence on this occasion, was read by Lyman Woodward, Esq. : -
Commonwealth of Massachusetts. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, -
BOSTON, June 5th, 1867. 3
MY DEAR SIR .- I acknowledge with high gratification your esteemed favor of the twenty-ninth of May, in which you honor me by an invitation to be present with my fellow citizens of Hubbardston on the thirteenth of the present mouth in observing the centennial celebration of the history of the town.
I would that I might come to your joyous holiday, but other and previous ap- pointments of official duty will keep me away.
This I especially regret, for I claim the honor of affinity, at least of neighbor- hood, with the good and ancient town of Hubbardston. My own native town of Royalton, in our common county of Worcester, separated from yours only by the lines of one intervening municipality, was settled and incorporated almost simultaneously with your own. The two towns have gone together from the first start to the last goal. Let me take pride in the thought that Hubbardston and Royalston have been joined by one common tie in the periods of colonization, of incorporation, of community in all the wars of the country, and of the present sublime opening to the future grandeur of our beloved Union.
With these reminiscences of the mutual relations of your town with mine, I conclude by asking yon to accept as my sentiment,
Hubbardston, Royalston, Worcester North,-All bound together in the ties of a common and simultaneous beginning, and of a common and indivisible distiny.
I remain, my dear sir, with the cordiality of a son of old Worcester County, Your Obedient Servant, ALEX. H. BULLOCK. LYMAN WOODWARD, Esq., For the Committee, &e., &c., for Hubbardston Celebration, Hubbardston, Mass.
3. Old Hubbardston,-Our birthplace.
That Hubbardston, our place of birth, The only home we 've known on earth, May stand upon the roll of fame Without one blot upon her name ; That they who bear life's burdens now, And show no wrinkles on the brow, May all be true and loyal ones ; And that their daughters and their sous
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May grow up virtuons, true, and fair, Will ever be the old folks' daily prayer.
To which J. C. Gleason responded as follows :-
It is with peenliar feelings of grateful emotion that I, in behalf of the young men and women here to-day, attempt to reply to this generous prayer of the old folks.
Gathered as we have to-day from different points, to celebrate the natal hour of this good old town, the home and birthplace of those so near and dear to us, while we love to look upon these hills so old and so beautiful, these vales so attrac- tive in their quietness mid fertility, and to revisit the scenes of childhood and youth, the haunts of our boyish sports and innocent games, and it all enkindles the livliest sentiments within our hearts, - sentiments of joy and of pride,-still our grentest joy to-day consists in recounting the ucts of those whose names are so in- terwoven with the interests of the town, in its history of these hundred years, in meeting and seeing again so many of them, and whom we may call by the endear- ing umine of fathers and mothers. It is they whom we love to honor and remem- ber in all places with the greatest regard and with the pride of true sonship.
To-day, in the sentiment now read, they have uttered the fond petition of their hearts,-their noble aspirations for their children. And we can appreciate, as we hope, its meaning. To us who are ready to enter upon the conflicts of life, and to those who have already seen some years of arduous toil in the varied fields of industry and business, these cheering words from home, these true and generous impulses of those ever dear, become the strongest incentives to action, the most powerful appeals to do and to dare.
We need it all, and the power of human praise even, cannot be too fully esti- mated. Like a galvunie enrrent it sometimes seuds new life and energy into every nerve and tissue of our organization, cukindling anew the loftiest ambi- tions, and inspiring to the greatest and most heroic deeds. Some years ago, in the metropolis of the old world, during a conflagration which devastated a large part of one of its principal streets, a flaming splinter was borne by the wind and caught on the spire of the church of St. Peter's.
To save that costly edifice becomes now the object of many a heart. How shall it be done. At length, after much delay, a sailor runs up from the crowd- ed throng, and is soon seen climbing, with fearless energy, the lightning rod, while the multitude below are gazing in breathless admiration. He ascends with wonderful celerity until, when the flaming brand is ahnost within his reach, his strength fails, the hopes of the vast throng of spectators seem destined to be dis- appointed, when, happening to be near the scene, the elder Booth, the great trage- dian, well knowing the magic power of that influence, jumps upon a loaded dray, shouting " Cheer him, cheer him," and as " three times three" ascend from the vast number below, new strength pervades the hero, he mounts yet higher, extin- guishes the flame, and descends in triumph to receive the congratulations of the thousands about him. Thus was the cathedral of St. Peter's saved, and such, too, is the power of human praise.
We thank you for it, and our effort will ever be to prove worthy of it.
We have often heard the regret expressed that so many of the young men, and especially those of energy and talent, leave their native town, elsewhere to seek their fortunes and make their homes.
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To this we need only reply, it is but natural. Just as, in obedience to the law of gravity, water will run down hill, so, to-day, the direction of the business energy and capital is towards those places most accessible and best adapted by nature to became centres of trade and industrial interests.
Let, then, your young men go where they can best display their energies and develop their talents. In this way, will they most honor the place of their hirth. Your pride shall be that your town has sont so many away to win laurels for her. Like the old New Hampshire farmer who, when asked, " What do yon raise up here among these rocks and hills ?" replied " Meu, sir, men who are known all over the land for their character and influence ;" so you, if need be, may remem- ber that now are the noblest product of auy soil, that the lessons of thrift and in- dustry and virtue which the youth in these hilly, quiet towns are getting will not be in vain.
What we need everywhere is men with vigorous bodies, healthy brains and sound morals. A man is a better citizen and a truer Christian who has a healthy organization. The men and women raised in these hilly towns of Massachusetts are the pride and honor of our State. They could never have become such as they are, deprived of the pure bracing air and healthful discipline of their carly homes.
And it is so miversally. I once counted from a single hill top in a township of Litchfield Co., Conn., the birthplaces of no less than four College Presidents, one Governor, and one U. S. Senator.
Give your young first a healthy physical development, and afterwards a sound intellectual and moral training, and you will never need bluish for their course of lifi .
Young friends, you and I, who to-day receive these many wishes for our future success, and who have enjoyed so richly of the fruits of our fathers' toil and sacri - tice, have each a duty to do.
Life is a grand reality and consists in a multitude of little things. Every one must realize it if he would succeed. The young are the hope of every people, and around them centres the greatest interests and responsibilities. And none of ns are too hunble to do each his respective duty. We are not all called to the pnl- pit, the bar, the sick room or the platform, yet none can be exempt from duty. Men of actions, not words, bear rule to-day. To be honored now, a man must do something, and there is an doquener of silence which passes speech. Carlyle has written hundreds of pages, I had well nigh said a full volume, to prove it, while the most popular man on this continent at this hour, Gen. Graut, has most bean- tifully exemplitied it in his own history, for he, a man of action, never made a speech in his life.
The conditions of snecess then are accessible to each individual, the induce- ments to apply them are great and cheering, and the rewards both sure and satis- fying.
May, then, the fond wish of the fathers be in us most fully realized, that what- ever else in the coming hundred years of the history of this town shall he written to her praise, not the least of all shall be the honor which her sons shall bring unto her, that her name and her glory may be ever brightening and bean- teons to behold.
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4. The Flag of our Country. Our Fathers set up this banner in the name of the Lord. Not one star has been erased, but, reversing the order of nature, new Stars are constantly rising in her Western horizon.
This sentiment was not responded to.
5. The past Residents of Hubbardslon,-who have worked for us and with us in faithfulness. We appreciate their labors, and extend to them a renewed cordial greeting.
Rev. Seth Saltmarsh was now called upon, and responded as follows, to wit :-
MR. PRESIDENT :
There are few words, if any, that thrill the heart with more intensity than the word HOME : no place that is so sacred to every feeling, unselfish spirit.
The absent one, who has found a new place of rest and of labor, where he has gathered around him what is sweet and holy in life ; where all his interests, busi- ness, -social and religions-seem to be centred, will, as his " heart, untraveled, fondly turns" to the place of his birth and of his carly associations, pronounce the word with saered tenderness, and cherish the desire to look upon it again ; and when that desire has become fruition, when he returns to the home and scenes of his early days, how readily do all the events of former time pass before the eye of memory, with the risen ghosts of what was buried from his thought, and rehearse the drama of that early period of his life.
Undoubtedly, sir, on such a retrospect beneath the operation of the influences that revive the past personal history and that of contemporaries, there must be much of sad as of pleasant remembrances. Even the sweeter memories must be tinged with sadness, if for no other reason, that the associations have been broken by separations, and by death. Still we are glad to
" revive those times,
And in our memories keep green and fresh, Like flowers in water, those carlier days, When at our eyes, our souls kindled their mutual fires, And linked and twined in one, We knit our hearts together."
You do well, Mr. President, and friends, on an occasion like this, to remove with tender hand the moss and dust that have gathered upon the tombs of the fathers, and of all former generations during " the lapse of the century" of your town existence, to recount-as has been so well and wisely done to-day by your orator-their excellencies, while you recall defects,-to call up from the deep sea of what we name oblivion, the deeds and communings of the past,-to renew vows of love for the spot of mother earth where your eyes first opened upon the light, -consider well what the debt is you owe, and how you shall most faithfully repay it.
Next to the satisfaction and joy of returning to one's place of birth, the home of early days, and living over again in the brief period that may be given, the events of the past, is that which comes to him who returns, as at your kind bid- ding I have done to-day, to the place of his sojourning, where he found a home, and interwove into the web of life holy and pleasing associations.
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It was my province, sir, to stand not as settled minister-in these days, to a large extent, a paradoxical expression-bt in the position of provisional Pastor over one of your Christian Churches, for the space of twenty-seven months.
It was a period of uninterrupted peace, not only as regards intercourse with my own immediate friends, but with all the people of this town of my acquain- tance,-of more than peace,-of affection and reciprocal kindly feeling ; so that I come back to your pleasant town, not as a stranger, or " mere looker-on in Vienna," but as a friend amongst friends, to receive, as I have, a large hospitality, and a fraternal greeting.
And this emboldens me to stand in what the occasion summons me to call this angust presence, as it were with the eyes of a century looking upon us, amidst the hosts of the unseen and seen, to add a few words to those 1 have heretofore spoken.
Mr. President, us you stand here to-day reviewing the past,-as yon recount in word or thought, the men of former time,-upon whom does memory most readily linger ! Whose names are most ready upon your lips ? Is it not of those whom you call the good? Were it not wise, then, for us to consider that we are writing our history for future generations to read,-that our children's children will speak of ns as we are, or refuse to speak of us because our memories are not what they should be, when they shall remove the moss and dust from our tombs, at the close of another century.
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