USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1920-1921 > Part 26
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however, several energetic drives for popular objects were underway, and a long sustained stock-market depression and other hindrances developed. These unexpected events led to inaction by the disheartened finance committee of Boston, who after securing a few thousand dollars, aban- doned their accepted task, to the keen disappointment and chagrim of your committee. The services of Mr. McGrath were then summarily ended and the National organization, so confidently perfected, came to naught.
Plymouth's celebration began officially on Forefather's Day of 1920. It was marked by a brief but impressive address from Governor Coolidge, a scholarly oration by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, and a noble poem by Doctor Lebaron Russell Briggs, the occasion being in sole charge of the State Tercentenary Commission as provided by statute. It was held in our only available auditorium, whose limited seating capacity left little room beyond that required for invited guests, and therefore few of the towns- people could attend. This led your committee to arrange for an afternoon gathering, open to the public, and without reservations. An attractive program was provided with instrumental music, several appropriate addresses, the singing by the audience of Pilgrim hymns, and the recita- tion of the exalted poem of the morning, which Dr. Briggs very graciously consented to repeat. The large audience gave evidence of its appreciation and enjoyment of this hastily arranged occasion.
After much deliberation your committee at this stage decided to devote its efforts to working out plans for a series of events that would fittingly constitute the Town's celebration, with Professor Baker's great pageant as its crowning glory. The latter was wholly under the direction and control of the State Tercentenary Commission, who invited and received our cordial cooperation in that and other local activities, a service which was reciprocated
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with courtesies we appreciated and now formally ack- nowledge.
Having decided upon a program for 1921 a detailed bud- get was prepared and submitted to the Town calling for an appropriation of forty thousand dollars, which was voted without objection. We then secured the services of Mr. Morris J. Duryea of New York, an experienced exe- cutive secretary, under whose competent direction the me- morable events of the year were carried out with notable success.
The most perplexing of our problems was to provide ad- ditional facilities for feeding, at reasonable rates, the mul- titudes we were led to believe would flock to Plymouth as to a devoted shrine, all through the season. We were advised that the local resources were insufficient for more than the demands of an average summer Sunday, while it was estimated by the transportation companies, and pro. dicted in the Press, that more than a million people would probably visit Plymouth during the celebration. We realized that inadequate feeding provision would be so widely advertised as to seriously deter the tide of travel from our celebration and we therefore deemed it a com- manding duty to do our utmost to avert so grave a peril.
We finally secured the two-story new building of the Bradley Rug Company, made its interior attractive, added conveniences necessary to its use as a restaurant, equipped a kitchen annex thereto, and thus made certain the feed- ing of at least six hundred people at a sitting. A contract was made with T. D. Cook & Co., the widely known caterers of Boston, which seemed assuring as to both service and financial return, but the confident predictions upon which your committee relied proved to be mistaken. for excepting on a few special occasions the multitudes that were ex- pected, failed to appear.
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This surprising situation was not peculiar to Plymouth but proved to be the experience of transportation companies and of summer resorts generally.
In the long extended service of the committee there were periods of disappointment and depression, but abiding satisfactions eventually came as public approval of the tercentenary proceedings became evident. There was fur- ther compensation in the cordial appreciation of our pro- gram expressed by President Harding and the guests of renown who honored by their presence the memorable cele- bration of August first. That distinctive day was made notable by the extended reports and editorial references in the press of our own and other lands, which accorded Plymouth's commemoration universal approval and praise.
Your committee had a mass of detail to deal with and complex problems to solve, and so there may have been oversights and mistakes, despite its purpose and effort to serve the Town creditably. We strove mightly to stage a celebration that would fittingly commemorate the great events that give Plymouth a unique National dignity, and we trust our service has justified the confidence of the Town in placing this important duty in our hands.
The following financial summary submitted by the treas- urer of the committee, Mr. George L. Gooding, indicates an unexpended balance of substantial amount, and this will be materially increased by items of salvage soon to be ad- justed.
Appropriated by the Town, $40,000 00
Received from National Committee, 12,015 00
Miscellaneous receipts, 1,684 41
$53,699 41
Paid out on approved vouchers, $48,186 00
Balance on hand, 5,513 41
$53,699 41
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By vote of the committee a complete review of its ac- tivities during the past year, submitted by our secretary, is appended hereto and makes unnecessary a more extended report of our stewardship.
Respectfully submitted,
For the committee, WILLIAM S. KYLE, Chairman.
Feb. 15, 1922.
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TERCENTENARY SECRETARY'S REPORT.
Plymouth, Mass., September 13, 1921.
To the Chairman and Members of the
Plymouth Tercentenary Committee :
I beg to submit herewith a report of the activities of the Tercentenary Celebration during the time I have been employed as your Executive Secretary.
I came to Plymouth on the first day of April to take charge of the work of the Secretary's office and have been actively engaged since that time in caring for the details of Plymouth's Tercentenary Celebration, under the direc- tion and supervision of the Executive Committee.
During the early part of the month of April, headquart- ers were maintained in the Town House. About the fif- teenth of April we took over the Davis House at No. 2 Court street and established permanent headquarters for our work. Sufficient office equipment for the proper opera- tion of the office was purchased. In addition to this we had the use of some of the furniture of the house, and chairs and tables that were loaned by Mr. W. M. Douglass and the Plymouth Cordage Company.
All of the correspondence and detail work of the Cele- bration were handled through the Secretary's office. Some idea of the activity of the office may be gathered from the fact the mail handled, in and out, amounted to approxi- mately eight-eight hundred pieces. Practically all of the publicity matter was handled through the Secretary's of- fice. Miss Gladys Robbins and Miss Doris MacMann were my assistants in the office.
One of the important activities of the Headquarters was
PLYMOUTH SIXTEEN
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the Housing Bureau. Miss Marianna Thomas handled the details of this work in a most capable and efficient way, under the supervision of the Housing Committee, of which Mrs. E. W. Swift was the chairman. I regret that we can not give in exact numbers the record of those who were served by the Bureau. There were days when it required two and three assistants to Miss Thomas to take care of the demand for rooms. Miss Virginia Swift served several times as assistant in the Housing Bureau and rendered efficient and valuable help. A big factor in the success of the Housing Bureau was the fine spirit of cooperation shown by the people of the Town. Homes by the hundreds were opened to visitors and between three hundred and four hundred rooms were listed with us. We were able to meet the demand for accommodations on every occasion, even on the most crowded days.
Another feature of our Headquarters was the First Aid Station. Plymouth Chapter of the American Red Cross generously assumed the cost of equipping and maintaining this department. Miss Hattie Hall was the nurse in charge. I am glad to report that this was a department that had very little to do. Our own First Aid Committee was relieved of much of the work it had expected to do by the offer of the Red Cross Chapter to care for the First Aid Station. However, it stood ready to meet any emergency during the season, and on August first took charge of the temporary stations that were maintained in connection with the pa- rade.
An important activity at Headquarters was the giving out of general information concerning the Celebration and the points of interest in Plymouth for the visitor. Every one in the building aided in this phase of the work. Thousands of pieces of literature were handed out to visitors and a million questions-so it seemed-were answered during the five months we have been in the present headquarters.
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For a time our office was used by the State Commission for the sale of Pageant tickets.
Before leaving the subject of work at the Headquarters I wish to comment on the splendid spirit shown by all those who were employed in the various departments. There were many days when things were strenuous and every one worked under a nervous tension, yet no one shirked the task given, or complained on being asked to work long past the usual time to go home. I am glad to have this oppor- tunity to express my appreciation of their cheerful help- fulness at all times.
All Committee meetings were held in the Headquarters. Prior to August first some of the Committees had a regular night each week for meetings. This meant that the build- ing was used about. every night of the week. As Executive Secretary I endeavored to attend all Committee meetings. but there were times when they came so fast and furious that it was a physical impossibility to do so. However, I did manage to keep in close touch with committee work, through contact with the various chairmen.
As you know, the work of the Celebration was carried on through special Committees. The general direction and management was placed, by formal action of the Tercen- tenary Committee, in the hands of an Executive Committee consisting of F. C. Holmes, chairman ; W. S. Kyle, W. M. Douglass, W. P. Libby, Elmer Briggs, F. D. Bartlett, G. L. Gooding and W. T. Eldridge. From the very first week that I came to Plymouth to the present time, these gentle- men have held a meeting each and every week, with addi- tional meetings held as often as required. They have given generously of their time and thought to the task of handling the details of the Celebration. A careful record of their meetings has been kept. Close attention has been given to business details at all times and every effort made to con- duct the affairs of the Celebration in such a manner as would protect the best interests of the Town.
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I believe I speak in no terms of exaggeration when I say that every Committee that was given a definite task to perform did its work well. The success of the Celebration bears me out in this statement. Some Committees had big things to do, others had tasks of minor importance, but every Committee met its work in a spirit that Plymouth people may well be proud of.
There was one Committee that was unique in that it was the largest on the list and did not have a single Plymouth- jan as a member, yet it did much to help make our Celebra- tion a success. I speak of the Committee on Cooperation with Outside Towns of Which Mr. Alexander Holmes was the Chairman. This Committee did much to bring about the participation of the towns of Plymouth and Barnstable counties in our great parade on August first and to create a fine spirit of cooperation between Plymouth and her sister towns and cities of the Old Colony district.
Time and space will hardly permit me to go into detai! in reporting the work of various Committees. I feel I should mention the Civic Pride Committee that did so much to clean up the unsightly places in the Town; the Decorat- ing Committee that did so much to make the Town look bright and pleasing to visitors; the Housing Committee that found the keys to the front doors of so many Plymouth homes and made it possible for the stranger and the so- journer to find a place to rest; the Music Committee that arranged and put over the splendid band concerts that were a big feature of the season; the Parade Committee that worked so hard and pulled off the biggest and finest parade that Southern Massachusetts has ever known, pulled it off on time and without a hitch; the Publicity Committee that prepared the "Self Conducted Tour of Plymouth" that was. so eagerly sought after by visitors, and the fine Tercenten- ary folder that was sent broadcast all over the United States; the Reception and Entertainment Committee that
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cared for the comfort and pleasure of our guests in so effi- cient a way on August first; the Sports Committee that made Fourth of July a day to be remembered; the Trans- portation Committee that solved our railroad problems and secured the cooperation of the officials of the New Haven system in advertising, far and wide among the railroads of the country, our whole Celebration; the Traffic Committee that worked out our one-way streets and other traffic regu- lations, and the special committee that helped to stimulate interest in the Pageant. All of these Committees deserve credit for what they did, credit for their part in the general results that should be so satisfactory to every citizen of Plymouth. I am glad it was my pleasure and privilege to work with and for them.
May I indulge in a little retrospection and bring to your mind some of the outstanding things of the past five and one half months of activity ? On April 15th we celebrated the departure of the Mayflower. Those who attended the exercises at the Old Colony Theatre will remember the beautiful living pictures and the fine addresses that were an inspiration to us to put our hearts and minds into the task that lay before us for the summer. July Fourth will be remembered for its sports, for the fine band concert, with the singers as an added attraction and the splendid display of fireworks. Then came the first performances of the wonderful Pageant, so marvelously and splendidly staged by Professor Baker. We were not responsible in any way for the success of the Pageant, for it was not one of the activities of the Plymouth Tercentenary, Committee. But, the Pageant was responsible for much of the success of our Celebration and we can well be proud of the fact it was the fine spirit of the hundreds of Plymouth people who made up the cast that contributed so much to the suc- cess of each performance and made possible the production of this beautiful story of our Pilgrim Fathers.
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August first will shine on the pages of Plymouth's his- tory as the great day of the Tercentenary. None of us who spent that wonderful day in Plymouth will ever forget it. Nature joined in our day of commemoration and brought, as her contribution to the program, the most perfect weather. Nights and days of hard work came to a splendid fruition on that day and all who had given their time and their energy to the preparation of the various events on the day's program could well be happy and satisfied with the results of their labor. It was a great day, a big day, a wonderful day. For years to come, memory will bring to our ears the crashing music of that magnificent Shriner band and to our eyes the vision of President, vice presi- dent, governors, foreign representatives, soldiers, sailors, beautiful floats, majestic battleships, swift and graceful destroyers, great throngs of happy people, and all the other things that made Plymouth's own day of celebration one to be long remembered.
To the mind of your Secretary, one of the finest things on our Tercentenary Celebration program was the Pilgrim Processional. I believe we owe much to Miss Millar and her associates for arranging this interesting and inspiring little pageant in so thorough a manner. No one who fol- lowed the little band of Pilgrims up Leyden street to Burial Hill, and gathered with them in that hallowed spot for the service of reading and song. could fail to be touched in heart and mind with the significance of this simple little ceremony that was conducted in so beautiful and reverent a way. It was well worth the small sum of money it cost.
There were other days to be remembered, days when May- flower Descendants, Y. D. veterans, Shriners, Pythians, Scotchmen, with their stirring pipes, Red Men and others came to Town. All of these added their part to the Ter- centenary story.
Labor Day marked the close of the Town's official cele-
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bration. It is said that not less than twelve thousand people listened to the last band concert and were dazzled with the big display, of fireworks that marked the end of our summer's work. It was a fitting close to a great Cele- bration.
I believe this report would not be complete if it failed to mention some of the organizations who were helpful to us in our work. The Baptist Church allowed the costumes of the Pilgrim Processional to be stored in its building and those who took part were allowed to dress there. On Au- gust first the use of the building was extended to our guests. The Chamber of Commerce prepared and printed literature for distribution. The Old Colony Club helped in a very generous way in the entertainment of our guests on August first. It would be hard to enumerate the things the Plym- outh Cordage Company did to be helpful. The Advertising Department, the Traffic Department, the Construction De- partment were turned over to Tercentenary work whenever® the call came for help. If your Secretary needed to have letters multigraphed he took his copy to the Cordage Com- pany. If we needed to have streets roped off we told M :. Walter H. Brown about it and they were roped off. If we wanted a sign over the front door we told Mr. Bent about it and the sign went up. When I first came to Town I heard a man say the Cordage Company wanted to "hog the whole Tercentenary." I never saw any evidence of that, but I did see a willingness to do anything and everything to help put it over. The Board of Selectmen have shown a fine spirit of cooperation all the way through.
We are indebted to the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad officials for the fine train service given us and for a tremendous amount of help in our publicity; campaign. Through their efforts advertising space was secured in the time tables of railroads all over the country, without any cost to us. The Passenger Department distributed one
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hundred thousand of our folders. Much credit should be given to our Transportation Committee for the cordial at- titude of the New Haven road towards our Celebration.
The Pilgrim Tercentenary Commission of the State of Massachusetts presented us with tickets for our guests on August first, making it possible for them to have the best seats for the Pageant.
We are under obligations to Governor Cox and other State officials for the presence of State police to assist in handling traffic on our highways and for other courtesies.
Through the courtesy of the Puritan Motors Corporation of Boston the Reception and Entertainment Committee was given the use of thirteen Lincoln cars and drivers on Au- gust first. On the same day George E. Holden of Boston sent seven Indian motorcycles and drivers to Plymouth for free service to the Parade Committee. Both of these gifts of helpful service were appreciated by the Committees to whom they were given,
The local newspaper people have been helpful at all times. Mr. Thomas Jackson took splendid care of the Press arrangements for August first.
The Fire Department was always ready to give us spe- cial protection when needed. We simply had to ask for it to get it-
We may well be proud of the Tercentenary record of the Police Department. The heavy traffic of the big days was handled with skill and tact and the fact there is no record of any serious accident during the entire season should indicate something of the quality of the men who make up the personnel of the Department.
The Indian Village in Morton Park proved to be one of the entertaining features of the Celebration. This was financed by the Tercentenary Committee. While it cost more than was anticipated it was well worth while, for it gave pleasure to hundreds of visitors, as well as to our
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own people. The Passamaquoddy Indians who were brought here from Point Pleasant, Maine, were a fine lot of people, honest and kindly in all their dealings.
In conclusion, I believe the members of the Tercentenary Committee, and all the people of Plymouth as well, may take satisfaction in having done a big thing in a big way. The Tercentenary Celebration was profitable to Plymouth from a purely commercial point of view, for the thousands of visitors who came here left a good deal of money behind them and the tremendous amount of publicity the Town has received ought to bring results in years to come. Plym- outh is on the map as she never was before. But the big thing that Plymouth should get out of the Celebration is spiritual rather than temporal. The spirit and purpose of real citizenship should be stronger in Plymouth than ever before, for Plymouth people, hundreds of them, have been doing something that was worth while this past summer, doing it in a fine way, doing it for their home town. The results of our summer's work should be that we have learned the real meaning of community spirit and have found that it is easy to do things, big things, when each one does his part, his share, of the things to be done. Plymouth still has big tasks ahead, big things to do, before she achieves her real destiny as a fine community. If one may judge by the results of this Tercentenary Celebration year, 1921, the people of Plymouth can face the future in a spirit of confidence.
I trust I may be pardoned if I close this report with an expression of my deep and sincere appreciation of the treatment I have received by the people of Plymouth during the time I have been employed as Executive Secretary ( f the Tercentenary Committee. I came to Plymouth an entire stranger to all of you. From the very first interview with the Executive Committee to these closing days of my work for you there has been nothing to mar the happiness that
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comes from pleasant relations with pleasant people. I ap- preciate the unfailing courtesy and kindness with which I have been met by all those with whom my work brought. me into contact. I am especially grateful to the men of the Executive Committee for the manner in which they stood so solidly behind me in the things I have wanted to do. Every officer of the Town with whom I came in contact has been more than kind to me. If my work has given satisfaction to you, I beg you to believe it has given pleasure and satis- faction to me. After my sojourn of five and one half months in Plymouth I can realize why people say they love it. I shall carry away in my heart something of that same af. fection, and in the years to come I shall be glad if the opportunity, comes to me to see Plymouth again and to greet. the people and friends for whom it has been my pleasure and privilege to work this summer.
Respectfully submitted,
M. J. DURYEA, Executive Secretary.
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LIST OF JURORS
Prepared by the Selectmen of Plymouth, Mass., for 1922.
Anderson, Albert S., Manomet, merchant.
Anderson, George F., 23 Standish avenue, overseer. Ashton, John W., 28 Vernon street, weaver.
Avery, Lester E., Stafford street, farmer.
Axford, William C., 14 Mayflower street, weaver. Bachelder, John L., 95 Sandwich street, machinist.
Badger, Leon D., 4 Lewis street, painter. Barnes, Alfred L., 202 Court street, clerk.
Barlow, George F., 2nd, 103 Court street, janitor.
Bartlett, Edwin H., Manomet, steamfitter.
Beauregard, J. Ernest, 5 Alden street, electrician. Beever, John A., 268 Court street, overseer. Bennett, Sylvanus S., 7 Highland place, carpenter.
Bent, Walter E., 14 Hall street, carpenter.
Berg, William J., 42 Court street, clothier.
Birnstein, Emil C., 221 Summer street, weaver. Blackmer, Daniel H., Manomet, farmer. Briggs, James A., 10 Lothrop street, percher.
Brown, Daniel G., 80 Sandwich street, machinist.
Brown, Richard B., 7 Winslow street, overseer. Brown, Walter H., 7 Holmes terrace, foreman.
Buchanan, Vincent, 15 Winslow street, painter. Bumpus, Albert A., 22 South street, painter.
Bunker, Guy C., 4 Sever street, foreman. Burbank, Alfred S., 5 South Green street, merchant. Burns, Alfred S., 109 Court street, clerk. Butland, Elmer E., 4 Massasoit street, clerk. Cappannari, David A., 51 Water street, clerk. Cole, Albert H., 263 Sandwich street, clerk.
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