The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-06-22
From the Springfield Republican
A VERMONT CENTENNIAL.
Barnard Observes the sevonteenth---A Big
Crowd, Lots Of Dinner and Some Good
Speeches.
BARNARD, Vt, Thursday, June II.


BARNARD, VT, Thursday, June II.
In March, l775, the settlement of this
town WAS begun by al few hardy sons of
toll from the region to which Vermonters
are yet prone TO refer as "down below"
and az the centenary anniversary of that
event came around, the good people here
bestirred themselves TO marx il with n cell
ebration, but, as nothing in that line could
be done in March, except by special inter-
position of Providence and snow shoes, q
town meeting, simply was held then, to
put matters i'll train. 1t was finally deci-
ded to have the celebration on this day, in
common with the people down Bunker
it!ll way, and the choice was the more ap-
propflate from the circumstance that, on
the great l1ih Cay 'of June, that was, as a
small party of men, including nearly or
quite all the citizens of the settlement,
were drinking at Il spring in the northeast
part of the town, they heard the guns Of
the famous battle. This statement, itself,
sounds little loud, at frat, but the scen-
tilic banks show the thing TO he far from
| impossible the story was taken down,
few years since, from the lips Of one who
was present, and ] see no reason to doubt
1t. settler i'm the adjoining town of
Pomfret IL also said TO have heard the
sound, and there are, ] think, Other similar
traditions in this part of the state. BE that
as 1t may, the celebration was held to-day,
and was handsome success.
Barnard, although no, a mountain town
yielding black bears and log cabins, is
situated in the high land between Quechee
and White rivers, and is what the nebobs
who dwell by those streams call "back
town." 1t is pretty thickly settled with
honest Yankees, ard is specially famous
for its production Of loree-ilesh. There is
a bit OF village in the west part of the
town, popularity called l,Y the Whimsical
uamc of barnard Harbor," while near the
centre OF he township is q larger hamlet
called, at least by older people, barnard
Fnwr. But the moderns get pretty, and
we begin to hear about east b irnard''
and barnard village and the beautiful
sheet OF water Of hundred acres extent,
near the lalteC is no longer Barnard
pond" but must be called Silver Lake. and
all such rubbish. Both lake and village are
on high ground, and a stream from ihc
former runs down to the north, turning a
few mills, and running into Locust creek,
where men occasionally amuse themselves
by digging for gold and so into White
river.
The celebration was he'd at Barnard
town, the dinner tables being set Just in
the rear of one Of the village churches,
while the speakers stand was in Il maple
grove but short distance off. The cxer-
cises consisted Of the firing of guns,
speech making, some brass band, aud I'm.
limited eating for Barnard undertook to
furnish free dinner for all corners, and
did it, and had margin left. With fault
less weather, the attendance vas quite
large, being something over 3,000. Com
mencing at an early hour, the procession
marched to the grove, where, after short
prayer, the president of the day, Mr.. w.
G. Danforh, spoke few words of wei.
come to those present, and introduced the
orator of the occasion, Mr. Norman p.
Wood OF this town. Mr.. Wood gave q
brief and creditable address, after which
El.enov. -s)Sn.Nf tPie, tcTa...s uas,y Geq.
monter on the face of the earth. and 4
great many of them have been TO his sinr.
ing-schools and been blown up by him in
the most entertaining and offensive way
Imaginable. He is famous for making
speeches, having considerable reputation
as lecturer, and h!s way Of putting things
is such that, when he starts. people
mostly arrange their features SO as tc
have EN- handy when they want
to laugh. His address, while very interest.
ing. in historical view, was pretty well
larded with Cheney interpretations, and
served also to amuse. Among the Barnard
men he noticed may be mentioned uoseo
Ballou, the Universalist preacher, and
Charles u. Eastman, the poet. Eastman's
father lived out Of town for a short time.
just when Charles was born, but he spent
nearly all his days here, and Charles grew
up here and should be counted Barnard
man. Mr.. Cheney indicated several of bis
poems, the scenes of which were laid in
Barnard, including Margaret. " and the in
ltial verses in his publsbedlbook OF poems,
entitled "a Picture" The "Sweet little
girl with the blue eyes" of the latter. the
speaker said, was q lady there present who
had cooked her share of the centennial din
ner yet TO be eaten. Eastman was also one
OF the very best newspaper editors that
Vermont has produced. Barnard has been
rainier prolific in newspaper men, as be-
Sides D. Is. DaniOrth OF the Rock Island
(lll.) argus, A. j. Alkens of Milwaukee.
always a newspaper man and inventor of
patent inside" business, went from here.
MI. AlRens was present, and in the after
noon made little speech
After Mr.. Chency's address came Dinner.
and the word ought to be in capital letters
throughout. Tables were erected, covered
with cloths and protected with avn.
lngs, by the sides of which were
seats. and upon those tables were
no less than 1900 plates, and solids
ana goodies enough to appall the stoutest
heart. Mighty pans Of pork and beans,
and no end of brown bread, made the pre-
vailng basis, while cold meat pudding.
pie, and such matters We're in such profu.
sion as TO survive all attacks The tables
were tastefully arranged with flowers and
evergreens, and an army of white muslin
girls dispensed ice-water and smiles as we
ate; and twas an episode III the dinner
line to which every good Barnard person
will point with pride all the days of his life.
After the eating exercises, the people re-
turned to the grove and listened to the
| reading OF letters from former residents OF
the town, and to sundry short speeches,
made by way of responses to toasts when,
1t being near night, the celebration was
| closed.
MI Johh freeman, 81 years of age, n
grandson of Thomas Freeman, was the
most noticeable representative of the first
settlers, while the place of Oldest inhab-
liant was filled by Lemuel Spooner, an 1912
soldier. "Uncle Lem" was 95 years DID,
April 14th, last, but is well preserved, and
promises to see the last Of good many of
us yet. He is something of an orator, and
from his oddities of expression, ALWAYS
pleases his audience. He responded to a
toast in fine style, and got three rousing
cheers.
The crowd was the best behaved one on
record. There was no man drunk, not SO
much as wagon wheel broken or fence
rail displaced, and no sort of disorder or
disturbance greater than the panic caused
by the caterpillars which dropped down
from thn traap