USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Needham > Needham's bicentennial celebration; a record of the exercises and a memorial of the celebration at Needham, Massachusetts, on the two hundredth anniversary of it's incorporation. Pub. by the Celebration committee; > Part 5
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It is not only the great cities that need civic en-
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thusiasm; it is our rural towns as well, for in the rural regions life often stagnates. I have found greater problems in the small villages of New England than I ever found during ten years' residence in the metro- politan district of New York City. What we need everywhere is for every man to realize that he is a partner with the state. What are you business men here tonight,-if I may talk directly with you for a moment,-what are you in business for? I have heard men say: 'I am not in business for my health; I am in business to make my little pile as quickly as I can and retire.' What if your minister should say that he was in the business of preaching for the same object? You would never care to listen to him again on Sun- day morning. What if your doctor should say that his only interest in his practice was for the fees that he got out of it? You would say, 'I don't wish him to attend again my wife and children.' What if the soldier should say that his only interest in enlisting in the army was his monthly wage? You would say, 'Strip off that uniform; he is no fit soldier to defend his country.' What if your school teacher should say all he cared about education was to get his salary and to do as little teaching as he could? You would say: 'Leave the schoolroom; that is not the type of man we want to have as guide for our children.'
When at dead of night the fire bells ring you ex- pect the firemen to risk their lives, with no thought of the wages that they will receive, in order to save the goods behind the counters in your stores. Why do you expect the firemen to be moved by any higher principle than the man who sells the goods behind the counter? You demand that the teacher shall teach the school from faith in education and love of the children. Do you allow the contractor who builds the school house to build it simply in order to put money in his purse?
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The time is coming when you will demand of the builder of the school house, and of the man who sells goods behind the counter, and of every man who works in the mills and the factories, the same standard which you now impose upon the soldier and the doctor and the teacher and the minister. We are coming to see that every legitimate occupation is a kind of social service, and if a man is not serving the social order, has no right to be in it. The aim of the true baker is to feed the hungry; the aim of the real clothier is to clothe the naked; the aim of the real doctor is to heal the sick. If these men do it well, they will have some financial reward,-and they deserve it,-but they do not do it for the reward. The man who does it only for the individual reward is against the public weal, he is not worthy to be named a citizen in the highest sense. But a real citizen, a soldier of the common good, whether he works behind the counter, or in the fire station, or in the mill, or the lawyer's office, works as the giver of social service, striving to make the world a finer and better place to live in.
It is good to say such a thing on Sunday night, but it is a good deal better to try to live it on Monday morning (applause.) I have an easier task in saying it, than you will have in living it in the years to follow.
I need not tell you the way in which some con- tractors treated the state of Pennyslvania when the capital at Harrisburg was erected. Some of them are behind prison bars today. In America men have sometimes said the state is for what they can get out of it, rather than what they can put into it. The contribution we can make to the state may not be the erection of some great public building, it may not be the opening of a public library; it may be a nobler ideal of manhood, a more unselfish type of service, a more unswerving devotion to the common weal. To make that contribution is to be a patriot.
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I sometimes say to my students in college, that what we need is to go back to the example of the ancient Greeks and the Hebrews. You will remember that everyone of the Old Testament prophets was primar- ily a patriot. Moses stood before the Lord at Sinai and said, 'If thou wilt not save this people, I pray you blot me out of thy book.' No one of the prophets of Israel thought of saving himself, apart from the saving of the nation to which he belonged. And so it was with the philosophers of ancient Greece. Do you remem- ber the oath of the Ephebi, which Mayor Gaynor has recommended to the children in the public schools of New York city? When the Athenian youth had come of age, he was brought before the magistrates of the "city of the violet crown," and he took in their pres- ence this oath,- ' I will not tarnish my sacred arms; I will not desert my fellow soldiers by whose side I may be set in battle; I will reverently obey the laws and the judges who enforce them; I will leave my country greater and not less than when she was committed to my keeping; I will not forsake the temples where my fathers worshipped; of these things the gods are my witnesses.'
Do you call that paganism? If it is, then we need a little more paganism in America. I call it the fine union of religion and devotion to the Common- wealth. I would that every boy or girl here tonight might, at some time during this festival be asked to promise,-'I will leave my town greater and not less than when committed to my keeping.'
And now let me speak with you of the third ele- ment that I said was included in true patriotism, and that is education. All our country today is swept by a great discussion as to what we call "vocational training." Everywhere people are asking, 'Shall we change our schools, so that their chief aim shall be
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to give some special training for the tasks of modern life?' I am not going into the details of that great question tonight. But I want to say this, that after all the great purpose of the school is not to prepare our boys and girls for a job, but to prepare them for a life. While I believe in articulating the schools very closely with modern occupations, while I believe in making our education as practical as we can, I also hold that the great aim is character rather than knowl- edge; is to make a type of citizen rather than a kind of workman; is largeness of comprehension and steadiness of aim, rather than the acquirement of technical skill.
I hope, therefore, that while we make our schools in some respects really vocational, we shall remember that the chief aim is not to make "hands" in our mills and stores, but to make citizens worthy of the Com- monwealth. We seek the inculcation of habits and methods and ideals. When a boy goes to the black- board to solve a problem in arithmetic or algebra, he may show that he has the four cardinal virtues, or he may show he is possessed of the seven deadly sins. It is a matter of character rather than of memory. When we ask a pupil to translate a sentence from some other language into English, at once the type of character is manifested. One kind of pupil looks for help from some other pupil; he is afraid, when he faces the unseen and unknown. There is another kind of pupil self- reliant and courageous, that dares to face the unknown whether it be a problem in arithmetic, a question in history, or the translation of a German sentence into English. The real question about your students is not how much they can remember but what sort of personality they possess; and if in and through our public and private schools we can give our growing young people sturdiness of character and steadiness of aim and earnestness of purpose, after all we have
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given them the chief equipment for life. If we have given them ideals by which to live, and if need be to die, we have given them the greatest gift that church and school can impart.
Thomas Stephenson built many lighthouses along the coast of England that tonight are sending out radiance over the channel, but we owe far more to his son, Robert Louis Stephenson, because he taught us how to live courageously and serenely in the face of danger and trouble. When Tennyson wrote "Cross- ing the Bar" he did more for England than if he had built the finest possible harbor for shipping. The teachers in your public schools, and the ministers in your churches are doing as much for your towns as the men who may build things that we can see and touch. They give our life its tone and quality, and teach the people what things are really worth while.
I have told my students many a time of the utter- ance of Theodore Roosevelt when he was Police Com- missioner in the city of New York. He read for the first time Jacob Riis's book called "How the Other Half Lives," and he wanted to meet the writer. He went down to the lower part of Manhattan and climbed the winding stair and knocked at the door. There was no one there, so Mr. Roosevelt took out his card and wrote upon it,- 'Have read your book and came to help. Theodore Roosevelt.' I would like to propose that as a motto for every man who has been educated in the schools, public or private, in this Common- wealth: 'We have read the books-the history-the lit- erature-the science-and now we come forth to help.'
I would propose that as a motto for all who may join in the exercises of this week. 'We have seen the banners; we have heard the speakers; we have listened to the martial music; and now we go forth to help our community to realize its own vision.' I give you greet-
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ing tonight on this your festival, and wish that from now until it is over it may be an inspiring, uplifting and summoning occasion." (Great applause.)
Selection by the quartet, "Still with Thee." Benediction by Rev. Mr. Waldron.
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HISTORICAL LOAN ART EXHIBIT
CAROLINE G. MILLS
ISABELLE MILLER
EMMA L. SMITH
LOUISE TWIGG
ELIZABETH WILLGOOSE
HISTORICAL LOAN ART EXHIBIT
At a meeting of the New Century Club held May 3rd, 1911, a committee of five, viz., Emma L. Smith, Isabelle Miller, Louise Twigg, Caroline G. Mills and Elizabeth Willgoose were appointed to assist the Town Committee in preparing for the celebration of the Bicentennial of Needham. This committee was asked to take entire charge of an Historical Loan Art Ex- hibit which the Town Committee proposed to hold in the High School Hall.
After meeting and organizing, we divided the town into sections, and each member of the committee can- vassed given territory. The articles promised did not at first seem to number very many, but when the time came for collecting we found we had gathered a very interesting and valuable collection. The exhibit was opened Sunday P. M., September 17th, and closed Tuesday evening, during which time over 1300 names were registered, which showed that Needham people appreciated historic subjects. We unearthed so many articles that if another like exhibit were to be held, it would require the Town Hall to accommodate it. Some of the many interesting articles exhibited were manu- scripts, samplers, war weapons, musical instruments, ancient dolls, cut glass, silver and pewter ware, grease lamps and different kinds of lanterns, candlesticks, warming pans, foot stoves, spinning wheels, reels, great
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CIGARS
A SECTION OF THE BUSINESS DISTRICT AT NEEDHAM- Great Plain Avenue, Looking East
THE ATHLETIC EVENTS
ATHLETIC EVENTS
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1911
Monday, September 18th, was an ideal day for the athletics. The temperature was 80 degrees and the atmosphere perfectly clear. Such conditions were conducive to especially fine performances.
The first event was the mile run which took place in the morning at 9 A. M. There were fourteen entrees. The winners were: -
1st. James I. Dallachie 2nd. Denny Sullivan 3rd. Clinton Cook Time, 4.56 4-5
Second Event. Baseball Game, 10 A. M. Need- ham Y. M. C. A. vs. Swampscott A. C. This provided an exciting contest and was won by the Swampscott A. C.
In the afternoon starting at 1.30 were the follow- ing events-
100 yard dash, handicap, won by - 1st. Frank J. Stanwood 2nd. Owen Webb 3rd. Thomas Moorehead Time, 10 3-5 seconds.
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75 yard dash for boys under 15- 1st. Paul Nickerson 2nd. Gordon Brownville 3rd. Charles Crowley
Running High Jump- 1st. Charles D. Burrage, Jr. 2nd. Lucien Burnham 3rd. Daniel L. Falvey Height 5 feet, 5 inches
Shot Put-12 pound- 1st. Frank C. Peabody 2nd. Irving Ross Stanwood 3rd. Daniel L. Falvey Distance, 44 feet, 6 inches
Running Broad Jump- 1st. John Moorehead 2nd. Bayard S. Foye 3rd. Irving Ross Stanwood Distance, 21 feet, 8 inches
220 yard Dash- 1st. Owen Webb 2nd. Lewis W. Hasenfus 3rd. Chester Mills Time, 24 1-5 seconds
75 yard Girls' Race, under 15- 1st. Grayce Mitchell 2nd. Muriel Kennedy 3rd. Audrey Norton
75 yard Sack Race- 1st. Wallace G. Rae 2nd. Rodney S. Adams 3rd. William T. Wilson
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440 yard Run-
1st. William J. Gaughan 2nd. Lewis W. Hasenfus 3rd. Leslie Allen Time, 54 seconds
35 yard Potato Race- Ist. Frank J. Stanwood 2nd. William T. Wilson 3rd. Wallace G. Rae
220 yard Run-
1st. Robert H. Burrage 2nd. George Hasenfus 3rd. Charles D. Burrage, Jr. Time, 2 minutes, 9 1-5 seconds
The following officials ably conducted the athletic events:
Referee, William W. Peck; Judges, W. G. Rae, John F. Gilfoil, Francis J. Stanwood; Clerks of Course, Henry Lawrence, Bayard S. Foye, Oscar H. Starkweath- er; Starter, Reginald C. Foster; Timers, Armand J. Mathey, Rodney S. Adams, William H. Wye, Jr .; An- nouncer, Daniel L. Falvey; Handicappers, Ralph G. Adams, Wallace G. Rae, Frederick S. Kingsbury.
The prizes for each of these events were-
For 1st., solid gold medal For 2nd., silver medal For 3rd., bronze medal
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NEEDHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY
MCMILL
NEEDHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDING NEEDHAM HEIGHTS
CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT
200℃ ANNIVERSARY INCORPORATION OF NEEDHAM.MASS
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THE OFFICIAL MEDAL
CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT
Not the least interesting feature in Needham's Bicentennial celebration was the entertainment for children in Needham Town hall at 9.30 A. M., Monday, September 18th.
Several hundred "Little Tots" with a fair sprink- ling of older children and adults, assembled before the opening hour and practically filled the seats on the main floor of the hall and in the balcony. If not " over critical," the audience was certainly "appreciative" and vigorously and noisily applauded the efforts of the entertainers.
The entertainment comprised a "Punch and Judy" show, selections by humorists, sleight of hand per- formance and vocal and instrumental music by per- formers from the Eaton Entertainment Bureau of Boston. The various acts were credibly performed and the en- tertainment as a whole was deserving of praise. The performance concluded at about 11.45 A. M.
Each child was presented with one of medals cast especially for this occasion,-the boys receiving' theirs in the form of a watch charm, and the girls theirs, hung from a ribbon.
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NEW DEDHAM AVENUE BRIDGE (Modern Concrete Construction - Opened for travel May 10, 1910)
EXERCISES IN THE TOWN HALL
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BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF THE TOWN OF NEEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS
MONDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 18, 1911
The literary exercises of the evening were preceded by a short concert given by the Needham Military Band, and also by the presentation of prizes to the winners of the athletic events of the day. These were awarded by W. G. Moseley, Esq., the chairman and presiding officer of the occasion. Following this interesting func- tion a male chorus under the direction of Fred S. Bir- chard rendered "To Thee O Country," by Eichberg.
THE CHAIRMAN. "A person leaving Massachu- setts and starting West when he reaches a stopping point is very apt to register as being from Boston. The farther south he goes, or west, he soon finds that all that it is necessary for him to put on the register is Massachusetts.
Massachusetts has occupied a very prominent part in the history of the United States. It has that position by reason of its many noted men, and Norfolk County has numbered among its residents numerous families who had a great share in the making of the history of this country. I think there is no more not- able family than the one represented by our speaker tonight, and I take great pleasure in introducing to you as the first speaker this evening, the Hon. Charles Francis Adams" [great applause].
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ADDRESS OF CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS
"Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: I want, in the first place, to give some expression to the feeling of embarrassment I am this evening conscious of. In- deed, within the last half hour the question has con- stantly been in my mind-'Why am I here at all?'-for I feel much as a stranger feels who, introduced suddenly into a family gathering, is then called upon to take the principal part therein. By way of explanation, perhaps, the gentleman who has just introduced me spoke of Norfolk County, intimating at least a county bond of fellowship between us. Now, it does so chance that in my own person, or vicariously, I had lived, so to speak, here in Norfolk ever since Norfolk was created; but, some twenty years ago, one day transferred myself to Middlesex; I cannot, therefore, figure here as a neigh- bor in the same county even.
It only remains, therefore, to assume that I am present on this occasion merely as one not altogether inexperienced in affairs of this sort, and, more especially, as having been for a number of years President of the Massachusetts Historical Society; for to appear, and be called upon, on celebrations like this of yours, is, I suppose, more peculiarly incumbent upon those who chance to be presidents of societies of that character.
The next question that suggests itself relates to the line of remark proper to be followed by one called
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upon under such circumstances. When, some weeks ago, invited by your committee to take part in your approaching celebration, I agreed to do so in neighborly, informal fashion; but I distinctly declined to undertake the preparation of anything elaborate, or what would involve research. Knowing nothing of your local his- tory, never before have I tarried in this, your town of Needham. I have often, of course, been in Dedham, the county seat, and in Wellesley, the home of my very dear friend, the late H. H. Hunnewell, -in fact, I have been in all the neighboring towns for one pur- pose or another; but I have never more than simply passed through Needham, without alighting in it. I am, therefore, very much of a stranger in your midst.
I have, however, on more than one occasion officiated, and even taken the principal part, in cen- tennial celebrations; and so doing has led me to con- sider some distinctive features of those affairs, and upon those features I propose this evening more es- pecially to dwell.
In doing so I have got to deal largely in general- ities, and I shall moreover make free use of old material of my own. To me, it will be somewhat of a twice-told tale; but you at least have not heard it before. If at times you find it a bit dull, or even commonplace, you must bear in mind that you have brought it on your- selves; I did not undertake this task, and find myself in an unexpected position.
In order the more effectively to begin on what I propose to say, I shall refer to an experience several years ago, which caused me carefully to reflect on the principal object of these celebrations, and how best to conduct them. The experience referred to was in con- nection with the town of Quincy,-the town in this, your County of Norfolk, where I and my people before
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me had been bone of its bone and flesh of its flesh for more than two hundred and fifty years.
It happened thus: nearly twenty years ago,-in 1892, I think,-they had a centennial celebration there,-an occasion very similar to that you are ob- serving now. The program of the day was to be ar- ranged, and, in arranging it, it was understood that the preparation of the usual address, as it is called,-his- torical in character-would devolve on me. Not relishing the task, I discussed the matter with a friend of mine, now dead,-he then in his own person repre- senting a name associated with Quincy since its begin- ning. For years he had been with me a stand-by in town meetings; and now, in the course of talk, I re- ferred to an address as one established feature of a commemoration, telling him frankly that I was tired of such, and, in my judgment, the day of such perfor- mances was over; that we had, in fact, been deluged with them, especially since what might well enough be described as the Epoch of Revolutionary Centen- nials,-then more fresh in recollection than now. The not unnatural result had followed, and, as we all know from our individual experiences, we turned with a sense of weariness, if not indeed of surfeit and even mental nausea, from those columns of the daily paper, headed with the announcement that yet one more commemoration had been observed in the customary way with an address, or an oration. These perform- ances, whether rhetorical or historical, or both, had, I then went on to argue, at one time served their pur- pose, and, in its day, a useful purpose; for in them was recorded much of historical interest and even value that otherwise might not have been preserved. But this was before the days of historical societies and town histories; and the oration or address has now become a medium by means of which a quantity of eloquence
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NEEDHAM'S BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
or sentiment, of small present and, so far as my obser- vation went, of no future value, was forced on the jaded eye and ear of an inattentive public,-forgotten as soon as uttered; and their yellowing pages even the future local antiquarian was not likely to disturb; for, as Hallam, the English historian observed, with a warmth of language in his case not customary, in these respects 'our Public Libraries are cemeteries of de- parted reputations; and the dust which accumulates on their unopened volumes speaks not less forcibly than the grass which waves over the ruins of Babylon.'
And I further then went on to tell my friend, 'Almost every period has some favorite mode of expres- sion,-in Massachusetts we once, and for a century and a half, had an era of sermons and pulpit discourses, and it industriously stored up a vast literature of that description, the present dreariness of which is inex- pressible; ours,'-for this was about the year 1890,- 'has been the century of orations and secular addresses, -the Ciceronian period of America; and so, during it, rhetoric and eloquence, much too often of the tinsel, academic sort, were made to serve the purpose which logic and theological fervor had previously served.' And, finally, I expressed the belief that the student of the twentieth century would hold this form of expres- sion of our time in not much greater value than we held the sermons and occasional discourses of our fathers. But we too will have seen ourselves in print!
As I argued thus, the friend to whom I have re- ferred refused to accept my conclusions, replying that in his judgment it was inexpedient on occasions like that then in view, or like this of yours, to dispense with the time-honored feature of an address. He not in- aptly compared it to the planting of a milestone, marking for all future time some point which a commun- ity had reached in its endless journey. Here we pause
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for a moment; and, resting from the march, we cast a glance backward over the road by which we have come, as well as forward over that we are yet to traverse. At such a time, he went on, we are, or ought to be, a world unto ourselves; 'Why, then, trouble our minds about other people or about posterity, wondering whether others are now observing us, or whether posterity will bear in memory what is here to-day taking place ?- it is enough that we-a community by ourselves, having both name and habitation of our own-have got thus far in our progress, and, laying aside our burden for this day, we pile up the stones which in the future shall serve as a memorial that here we rested as we passed a milepost.' Then he referred to other days, reminding me of similar milestones planted in bygone times by the hands of those since dead; and, as he enumerated these, I had to admit there was point and force in what he urged. In the case of Quincy, first was the milestone, then more than a century and a half old, which we owed to the Rev. John Hancock, father of the famous patriot of that name and once (1726-1744) pastor of the North Precinct Church of Braintree,-a milestone which had come down to us in the form of two sermons delivered by him to his people, then gathered on Sunday, the 26th of September, 1739 (N.S.) within the walls of the old Braintree meeting house. After the delivery of which discourses, the ancient records say that, 'Being the Lord's day, the First Church of Braintree, both males and females, solemnly renewed the covenant of their fathers immediately before the participation of the Lord's Supper.' The century of church life was com- plete, and a fitting memorial of it provided,-a mem- orial which, though little noticed by the great outer world, then or since, some, my friend urged, would be sorry not to have.
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