USA > Maine > Waldo County > Belfast > History of the city of Belfast in the state of Maine, Volume II, 1875-1900 > Part 27
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CHAPTER XL
CELEBRATIONS AND OBSERVANCES
Fourth of July - Decoration Day - Orators - Arbor Day - Death of Presi- dent Garfield - Death of General Grant - Death of Vice-President Hen- dricks - Death of Governor Bodwell - Old Home Week.
FOURTH OF JULY
TN 1877, Equity Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, with invited Granges, held a celebration, at the Head of the Tide. Seth Llewellyn Milliken delivered an oration in Mitchell's Grove. There was a procession, a dinner, and in the evening a dance.
1879. Early in this year, the Belfast Masonic Fraternity hav- ing become established in the new Temple, it was determined to dedicate that edifice on the Fourth of July, that being the thirty- first anniversary of the consecration of Corinthian Royal Arch Chapter, and extensive preparations were made. The ceremonies took place under the supervision of the Grand Lodge, and were preceded by the largest procession ever witnessed in Belfast, comprising three thousand Masons from thirty-two different Masonic bodies, and nine bands of music. A dinner for three thousand persons was provided in a tent, 250 feet by 115, pitched in the Allyn Field. At its close an oration was delivered by Grand Master Josiah H. Drummond. An evening reception in the Temple and a dress ball in Hayford Hall closed the festivities. A detailed account of this celebration was published in a Masonic supplement of the "Republican Journal," portions of which appeared in Russell Glover Dyer's "History of Corinthian Chapter."
1890. An elaborate programme was arranged, but rain inter- fered, and only a few of the exercises took place. A cavalcade of Antiques and Horribles, however, appeared, but with reduced numbers.
1891. The Waldo County Horse-Breeders' Association, and the citizens generally, prepared for a celebration, but rain fell throughout the whole day, and the races, which were to form a prominent feature of the occasion, did not take place.
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HISTORY OF BELFAST
1892. A celebration by the Horse-Breeders proved successful this year. There was a procession of fantastics, an address on the Common by Hon. Seth Llewellyn Milliken, and an exhibition of the waterworks, followed in the afternoon by races at the trotting park, and by a ball in the evening.
1899. The celebration proved more extensive and successful than any for several years. The weather was perfect, and the streets thronged. The exercises included sunrise salutes, fire department trials, a trades and fantastic procession with three bands, boat contests and other athletic sports, a yacht race, base- ball games, closing with a band concert and display of fireworks in the Allyn Field, between Allyn and Condon streets. Notwith- standing the large number of visitors but two arrests for drunken- ness took place. A free supply of iced water was furnished at the principal street corners.
DECORATION DAY
In 1874, the thirtieth of May was declared a legal holiday by the Legislature of Maine. It was not fully observed as such in Belfast until 1877, when for the first time there was a procession, decoration of graves, reading the roll of honor, or a list of Bel- fast soldiers in the Civil War who were killed or had died, and an address. Since then similar exercises have taken place each year, the expenses of the occasion being aided by appro- priations from the City Treasury. The orators have been as follows: -
1877. Colonel Joseph W. Spaulding, Richmond.
1878. Seth Llewellyn Milliken, Esq.
1879.
1880.
1881. No observance.
1882. Rev. Simon Goodenough,1 Belfast.
1883. Rev. Thomas B. Gregory, Belfast.
1884. Rev. H. W. Tilden, Augusta.
1885. General Charles Hamlin, Bangor.
1886. Rev. C. L. Haskell, Searsport.
1887. Hon. Seth Llewellyn Milliken, Belfast.
1888. Luther C. Bateman, Searsmont.
1889. Rev. J. H. Shinn.
1 Published in the "Republican Journal," June 8, 1882.
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CELEBRATIONS AND OBSERVANCES
1890. John O. Johnson, Liberty.
1891. Colonel William Henry Fogler, Rockland.
1892. Jeremiah E. Burke, Waterville.
1893. Rev. Myra Kingsbury, Belfast.
1894. Rev. S. L. Hanscom, Belfast.
1895. Rev. John F. Tilton, Belfast. 1896. Rev. Charles Henry Wells, Belfast.
1897. Norman Wardwell, Esq., Belfast. 1898. Rev. G. G. Winslow, Belfast.
1899. Rev. Ashley Auburn Smith, Belfast.
1900. Colonel Harry Weissinger.
ARBOR DAY
In 1888, the Legislature passed the following law: "That the Governor shall annually set apart a day in the spring as Arbor Day, and shall issue a proclamation recommending that it be observed by the people of this State in the planting of trees, shrubs, and vines, in the adornment of public and private grounds, places, and ways, and in such other efforts and under- takings as shall be in harmony with the general character of a day so established." The 1st day of May having been so ap- pointed, exercises took place at the High-School room, followed by planting trees upon the school common, one of which, an clm, on Spring Street, was named Louisa May Alcott. Three years afterwards, a Longfellow tree was planted by the school children on the common.
OBSERVANCES
The news of the assassination of President James Abram Gar- field, Saturday July 3, 1881, reached Belfast at about eleven o'clock in the forenoon, and created intense excitement. The Boston Sunday newspapers, the next afternoon, gave the first details of the sad event. On the announcement of his death, September 19, the church bells were tolled, flags displayed at half-mast, buildings decorated in mourning, the schools dis- missed, and all places of business closed. The part which Bel- fast took in the national pageantry of mourning on the following Monday, the day of the funeral, was imposing and creditable. Mayor Marlboro Packard Woodcock early issued the following notice :-
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HISTORY OF BELFAST
In response to the recommendations of President Arthur, and the general desire of the people that their heartfelt sorrow at the death of President Garfield may find fitting public expression, I request that all places of business in this city may be closed on Monday next, from 12 M. to 4 o'clock P.M. A public meeting will be held in Hayford Hall at 2 o'clock P.M., at which there will be singing, prayer, and addresses by the clergy and others.
MARLBORO PACKARD WOODCOCK, Mayor of Belfast.
Early in the morning the city was draped with elements of mourning. Business was entirely suspended, and in the streets a Sabbath silence prevailed. The memorial services were largely attended, and no more reverent audience ever assembled within the walls of any sacred edifice. The decorations of the hall were elaborate and in good taste. The Mayor presided, and addresses were made by Rev. John Alexander Ross, Mr. Augustus H. Kel- ley, George Edmund Wallace, Esq., Colonel William Henry Fog- ler, and Hon. Seth Llewellyn Milliken. On the following Sabbath, sermons upon the late President were delivered in all the churches of the city, which were draped in mourning.
On the occasion of the funeral of General Grant, which took place August 8, 1885, Mayor Fogler issued an order as follows: -
TO THE CITIZENS OF BELFAST: -
It is fitting that we unite with the citizens of the whole country in expressing our sorrow for the death of the first citizen of his country, the ablest soldier of his age, General Ulysses S. Grant, and in paying to him our tribute of respect as his body is being borne to its last resting-place.
I, therefore, request that on Saturday, August 8th, the day of his funeral, all places of business in the city be closed between the hours of two and four o'clock P.M., and that, so far as practicable, the residences and places of business in the city be suitably draped.
WILLIAM HENRY FOGLER, Mayor.
The request was generally observed. The bells were tolled, and flags were displayed at half-mast.
On Sunday, December 1, 1885, Mayor Fogler issued a notice concerning the funeral of Vice-President Hendricks, and the sug- gestions which it made met with due response.
TO THE CITIZENS OF BELFAST: -
The funeral of Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks, late Vice-President of the United States, will take place at Indianapolis to-day. As a token of respect to one who at the time of his death filled the second office in the
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CELEBRATIONS AND OBSERVANCES
gift of the American people, and as a recognition of the national loss sustained by his sudden and lamented death, I recommend that all places of business in this city be closed to-day from 2 o'clock to 4 o'clock P.M. WILLIAM HENRY FOGLER, Mayor.
BELFAST, December 1, 1885.
Upon the death of Governor Bodwell, in 1887, Mayor Burgess issued the notice given below. Its requests were complied with, the schools closed, aud flags from the public buildings were dis- played at half-mast.
MAYOR'S OFFICE, BELFAST, December 19, 1887. TO THE CITIZENS OF BELFAST: -
The Governor of this State, Hon. Joseph R. Bodwell, died at his residence in Hallowell, Thursday morning, the 15th inst., and his public funeral takes place Tuesday, the 20th inst. In accordance with the request of Acting Governor Sebastian S. Marble, and as a mark of our respect and honor for the memory of our deceased Governor, I respeet- fully request that all places of business be closed Tuesday, Dec. 20th, from 11 A.M. to 2 P.M., standard time.
ALBERT CARGILL BURGESS, Mayor.
BELFAST OLD HOME WEEK ASSOCIATION
The hills are dearest which our childish feet Have climbed the earliest; and the streams most sweet Are ever those at which our young lips drank, Stooped to the waters o'er the grassy bank.
Such, and kindred associations, induced the presence of a large number of the sons and daughters of Belfast, resident else- where, August 7-10, 1900, to participate in the observance of Old Home Week. A society formed for the purpose, and pre- sided over by Mayor Clarence Osgood Poor, omitted no effort to render the occasion successful.
Supplementary to the official assurance of Governor Llewellyn Powers, that former residents of Maine would be greeted where were once their homes and the scenes of their youth with heartfelt welcome, unfeigned gladness, and open doors, the Belfast Old Home Week Association sent a cordial invitation to nearly a thousand former citizens and their descendants who were scat- tered through every State in the Union.
The public entertainments were inaugurated August 7, by a baseball game, and a performance of "Pinafore" by a local com- pany at the Opera House. Social gatherings occupied the next day, followed by the arrival of the United States ship Texas, a
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HISTORY OF BELFAST
war steamer of over six thousand tons, which anchored opposite the Western Battery.
Thursday, August 9, had been set apart for the principal fes- tivities, and nearly all the buildings, public and private, presented a gay appearance with their decorations of flags, mottoes, and flowers. A cloudy morning gave way to sunshine, which enabled the programme to be thoroughly carried out. At nine o'clock, a procession, preceded by the Belfast Brass Band and escorted by the Knights of Pythias, formed in line on High Street. Here it was joined by the officers of the Texas in carriages, the city authorities, and by a battalion of marines and blue-jackets, followed by the Brooks Band, and buckboards adorned with flowers containing young ladies in brilliant costumes. During the passage through the streets, a halt was made around the school-house common, where lemonade was served and each person in the ranks sup- plied with a bouquet. Along the line of march, the naval officers as well as the men under their command received a continuous ovation. In the afternoon, the harbor presented a brilliant spec- tacle. Favored by a light breeze, and witnessed by thousands of spectators who lined the shores, a fleet of nine yachts from Dark Harbor, all racers in rig and model, and manned by experts, con- tended for prizes, succeeded by trials of speed from sloop and knockabout classes. Many visiting yachts, among them the famous cup defender Vigilant, and numerous steamers and vessels gave animation to the scene. Other events were visits to the Texas, which was open to public inspection. A baseball game was played, and towards sunset, Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias, under the command of Captain Francis Hiram Welch, gave an interesting and largely witnessed drill in Custom-House Square.
The evening's entertainment consisted of a concert by the Bel- fast Band upon the Common, which was illuminated by Japan- ese lanterns suspended from the trees. Captain Mackenzie of the Texas and nine associate officers attended. While the concert was in progress, the Texas gave an exhibition of her search and signal lights.
On Friday afternoon, a reception, conducted by the Improve- ment Society, took place in Memorial Hall, and brought together many citizens and old residents. The decorations of the hall were elaborate, and the ladies, who offered refreshments from tables almost obscured by flowers, were particularly attractive. In the
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CELEBRATIONS AND OBSERVANCES
evening the naval officers and others were hospitably entertained at the residence of James Sumner Harriman, Esq., Collector of the District of Belfast.
The exercises of the week fittingly closed with services at the Unitarian Church, where an appropriate sermon was preached by its pastor, Rev. James Monroe Leighton. A large audience was present, many from abroad availing themselves of the oppor- tunity to worship once more in the venerable edifice, which for over three fourths of a century has remained almost unchanged.
CHAPTER XLI
BENEFICENT ACTS AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS
Bequests of Paul Richard Hazeltine - Alfred Waldo Johnson Poor Fund - Gift of Nathan Foster Houston - Free Soup-Houses - Home for Aged Women - Donation for St. John and Eastport Fire Sufferers - Humane Society - Associate Charities - Girls' Sewing-School - Girls' Home.
TN addition to his bequest for a library, the details of which are given in another chapter, the late Paul Richard Hazeltine, who died in 1878, gave to the Unitarian Society of Belfast the sum of seven thousand dollars, to be safely and permanently in- vested and held in trust by said society; one half of the income to be paid for the support of Unitarian preaching, and one half of said income to be paid to assist the deserving poor of the town, during the winter and spring months of each year, to prevent their being forced on the town for support; these bequests to be under the control, management and direction of the regular officers or committees of management of said society forever. If the funds should ever be diverted from the specific objects for which they are given, they become forfeited, and revert to the legal heirs.
He also made an additional bequest to the society, as follows:
I give and bequeath to the Unitarian Society of said Belfast at my wife's decease, out of my estate left her during life, Three Thousand Dollars, in addition to the Seven Thousand Dollars heretofore given said Society, for the same purpose, viz .: to be safely and permanently invested and held in trust by said society. One half of the income of which to be paid annually for the support of Unitarian preaching for said society, and the other half to be paid for food, fuel and clothing for the deserving poor of said Belfast, during the winter and spring months of each year forever, to prevent their being forced on the town for sup- port. This bequest to be under the management, control, and direction of the regular officers or committees of said society for the time being.
If this bequest should ever be diverted from the specific objects for which it is given, it shall revert to my estate, and be equally divided between my legal heirs.
The other religious societies were remembered by him in the following bequests: -
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BENEFICENT ACTS AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS
I give and bequeath to the Methodist Society, and to the Baptist Society, and to the Congregational or Calvinistic Society, and the Univer- salist Society, as now organized in said Belfast, One Thousand Dollars each, to be permanently invested and held in trust by each of said societies, the interest of which only shall be annually paid for such preaching as the several societies may desire, forever.
If any of these bequests should ever be diverted from the specific objects for which they are given, they shall become forfeited, and revert to my legal heirs and be divided between them accordingly.
The annual bequest of the late Alfred Waldo Johnson, of five hundred dollars, to be expended perpetually, for the relief of the needy poor of Belfast, who are not paupers, has been faithfully disbursed since his death in 1869. During the winter of 1900, Mr. Edward Johnson, its trustee, paid out $513, as follows: For wood, coal, and flour, $413.88, in 103 different lots; and $100 in cash distributed between five individuals.
In 1877 and 1878, Hon. Nathan Foster Houston gave his salary as Mayor for the benefit of the poor.
A soup-house, established on Beaver Street, in February, 1878, for the benefit of the poor, disbursed fourteen hundred gallons. The "Republican Journal" remarked that it did not attract applicants in numbers sufficient to indicate great destitution. As a matter of fact, all the really pressing cases of want were relieved by local charities, organized previous to this year.
The following winter (1879) a soup-house was maintained for seventy-five days, under the superintendence of Alden Darwin Chase. The average daily charity applicants were ninety-seven. The aggregate number of persons supplied was seventy-two hun- dred and seventy-five.
A soup-house was also opened during the winter of 1893-94. It was conducted eleven weeks, and dealt out ten thousand free meals.
In 1895, Mrs. Andrew Euell Clark, Mrs. Henrietta Walker, Mrs. H. W. Pitcher, Mrs. William B. Conant, Mrs. Stephen G. Bicknell, Miss Almira Abigail Hicks, and Miss Ellen Prentiss Frothingham were incorporated as The Belfast Home for Aged Women. While its objects have not been perfected, the organi- zation is maintained, and it can receive bequests or contribu- tions for the future. (1900.) 1
1 In 1913, the corporation of the Belfast Home for Aged Women, organized in October, 1903, own the "Home" situated at 24 Cedar Street, and valued at $4000; and in addition have about $6000 invested, and disburse the income of the
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HISTORY OF BELFAST
In 1877, five hundred dollars was raised and sent to sufferers by a great fire in St. John, New Brunswick. After the Eastport fire, in October, 1886, $429.50 was contributed by our citizens, one hundred dollars being given by Charles Bellows Hazeltine.
BELFAST HUMANE SOCIETY
This society was formed in June, 1885. In the language of the by-laws, its work has two aims: first, it will prevent cruelty to all animals; second, it will prevent cruelty to children. The pre- vention of all kinds of cruelty will be sought, first, by the crea- tion of a public humane sentiment; second, by the punishment of offenders to the full extent of the law.
Arthur W. Robinson was the original agent. His successor, John Watson Knowlton, whose faithful discharge of his duties reduced to a minimum the necessity for such work by inculcat- ing a wholesome respect for the law, held the position until his death, when Owen G. White was chosen. The latter died in 1900, and William Harry Clifford took his place.
In 1896, a bequest was made to the society by Mrs. Frances Maria Banks, and five years later, one of like amount under the will of the late William S. Brannagan. At the last annual meet- ing the treasurer reported two hundred dollars in his hands. The present officers are as follows: President, Nathaniel Emery Keen; vice-presidents, Dr. John George Brooks, Clement Wes- cott Wescott; treasurer, Horatio Palmer Thompson; secretary, Rev. Lindley M. Burrington. (1900.)
In November, 1897, a society called The Associated Charities of Belfast was formed, but suspended the following year.
A Girls' Sewing-School instituted in 1896, has proved highly successful. It had forty-one pupils in 1899.
THIE GIRLS' HOME
In 1893, Mrs. Eliza A. (Dickerson) Burrington, Mrs. Charles Albert Pilsbury, Mrs. Elizabeth Brown Brackett, Ami Cutter Sibley, Mrs. Albert Gammans, Mrs. Arthur Irving Brown, Dr.
MeClintock Fund of $3000. The Home is in charge of a matron, and there are at present four residents who have signified their desire to pass their remaining days under its sheltering roof. The Board of Directors consists of nine of Belfast's representative men and women. The officers are: Dr. Elmer Small, president; Hon. Robert F. Dunton, vice-president; Clement W. Wescott, Esq., treasurer, and Miss Susie Marie Partridge, clerk. The Association comprises 120 members.
3.
.36
THE GIRLS' HOME. OPENED 1895
THE ACADEMY. ERECTED 1846. LATER SOUTH PRIMARY SCHOOL
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BENEFICENT ACTS AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS
John George Brooks, of Belfast, with associates from different parts of the State, were incorporated as the Children's Aid Society of Maine, for charitable and benevolent purposes, with power to establish and maintain a home for friendless, destitute, and needy children, and for furnishing them with relief and assistance, together with suitable mental and moral training. Two years later, under the influence of Mrs. Burrington, the originator of the movement, and its active promoter until her death in 1900, the Legislature appropriated three thousand dollars for the pur- pose of establishing a home in Belfast, to be expended under the direction of the Governor and Council; the property purchased to be held in trust, and to revert to the State if otherwise used. This sum and other contributions enabled the purchase of the Mudgett farm on Northport Avenue, containing forty acres of land, with a large house and barn. The State holds a title to five acres on the front of the premises, including the buildings; the remainder is owned by the Society. Dedication ceremonies took place September 20, 1895, speeches being made by Hon. Isaac Henry Jackson, State Senator, and Hon. Seth Llewellyn Milli- ken. The Home was opened for receiving children, November 5, 1895. It has accommodations for twenty inmates. Of the large number of girls cared for during the existence of the school, nearly all have found permanent homes in excellent families. Private generosity, aided by annual State appropriations, has kept the Home free from debt. It is an honor to the city and to the excel- lent ladies who have been and now are its managers.1
1 In 1913, the Girls' Home still continues to carry on its good work. Dr. John George Brooks succeeded Mrs. Burrington as president, and at his death, in 1904, was in turn followed by Rev. Harry Lutz, Mrs. Annie Pitcher Griffin, and Rev. William Vaughan, the present incumbent, who is now serving in his seventh year. At the decease of Mrs. Albert Gammans, in 1902, Mrs. Elizabeth Brown Brackett was elected secretary, assuming at the same time the position of editor and manager of the Society's paper entitled "The Girls' Home." Mrs. Brackett continues in these positions and performs, in addition, the duties of Field Superintendent. Hon. Ami Cutter Sibley was the first treasurer, and at his death, in 1901, was succeeded by Clement Wescott Wescott, Esq., who has since held the position. During the year 1910, a large annex was built, giving fourteen additional, high-studded, airy rooms, with extra baths, a laundry, and dairy. The farm of forty acres was also put under more extensive cultivation at that time. Bequests have been received as follows: From Hon. George H. Ware, of Waterville, $5000; from Hon. D. D. Stewart, of St. Albans, $5000, to be known as the Levi M. Stewart Fund; and from Mr. and Mrs. Ira Maurice Cobe, of Chicago, an invested fund of $2500.
CHAPTER XLII
AMUSEMENTS
Spelling-Match - Centennial Fair - Dickens Party - Old Folks' Concert - Circuses - Theatres - Roller-Skating - Rinks - Barnum's Show - Trades Carnival - Living Whist - Baseball - Old Folks' Balls - Public Halls - Rila Kittredge, Champion Fine Handwriter.
B ELOW will be found noted the chief amusements given in Belfast between 1875 and 1900.
1875, April 6. An old-fashioned spelling-match at Hayford Hall caused much amusement.
1875, June 30-July 1. A Centennial Fair was given by the Ladies' Aid Society, at Hayford Hall, which was elaborately decorated. The most attractive corner was that devoted to the antiquities. Here were gathered the contributions of the an- cients - the venerable articles of furniture, the clocks that had ticked away their hundred years, the chairs that had supported the forms long crumbled in the grave, the yellow old volumes that had been read by eyes from which the light had gone out scores and scores of years agone, the candlesticks that had lighted the way to dusty death, the punch-bowls that had been drained in old-time revelries. Charles Bellows Hazeltine contributed a powder-horn, and one of those fearfully long muskets with which his ancestor had hunted the Pequots two hundred years ago. Mrs. Wording had some embroidery done by her grandmother in 1764. Mrs. Daniel Lane exhibited a miniature on ivory of the father of Governor Gore of Massachusetts, encircled by a setting of gold beads, presented to the original of the picture by General Washington.
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