The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-12-24

Santa Claus and all their children are
among the attractions offered at the former
AT Trinity church there will be Christmas
cabin, from which presents will be dis
tributed. Regular Christmas services will
be held at Christ Church Thursday fore
noon, at half-past ten, and the Sunday-school
service at four o'clock p. NJ. There will be
festival at Bethany Thursday evening.
Supper will be served from five o'clock un-
til seven after which there will be musi-
cal entertainment, in the course of which
portion of the charming little cantata "The
Flower Queen" will be given. The festiv-
tiles at the Church of the Messiah occur on
Friday evening when the operetta, 3" Santa
Claus at Home" which met with such sue
cess year ago, will be repeated. Presents
will be distributed from the Christmas tree
among the smaller children. The enter
tainments promise abundant pleasure for
the little folks, and it is to be hoped that
the weather will permit large attendance
at them all.
THE entertainment at Union School hall,
Friday afternoon, was well attended and
passed off very satisfactorily. The vocal
music was prominent feature of the pro-
gramme. This was under the direction of
Mr.. n. II. Thompson of Burlington, who
was called to assume charge of the music
department of the school some ten weeks
since. The manner in which the differ
ent schools acquitted themselves was a
decided qualification to all and highly fiat
tering to Mr.. Thompson and his method of
instruction. The instrumental music, reci-
| tations, declamatiOnS, etc, were very cred
table to the pupils of the various depart
ments. Seven hundred sixty-one tickets
were sold by the children, to whom prizes
were awarded according to the number sold
by each. Those who took first prizes were
Ruth Standish Ned Bailey, Julia Pitkin,
Ray Huse, Lucy Hutchns, Anna Guernsey,
Walter Washburn and Ned HoughtOn.
Those who took second prizes were Edwin
Nelson, Willie Field, Mary Poland, Clar-
ence Lease, Fred Shepard, Edward Murray
and Rose Lucia. The entertainment netted
about SIC, which will be used for the BEN
eft OF the school library.
The meeting of Vermont Lodge, Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows of Mont
pelier, last Wednesday evening, was at
tended by ID. II. Turner, past grand of AL
bany, n. Y, editor of the Odd Fello,cs' Guide,
| who delivered short address, and, judg-
ing from the expression of those present, the
| absentees missed rare treat. Among the
statements the speaker made in his address
| were some of a statistical nature, interest
ing as showing the extent of the benevolent
work and present condition of the order in
this country. Though less than sixty-six
years old the American order has admitted
| 100000 members, of whom 523 900 are now
in good standing pecuniarily, and are active
in the nearly eight thousand lodges in the
United States and Canada, while the assets
making it the wealthiest benevolent institu.
ton in the country. The work of the order
during the past fifty years has been as fol
lows: Number of members relieved, ,096,
950 number of widowed families relieved
IA, ,S05; number Of members buried, LOG, ,922
total receipts from dues and fees, 100000,
000 total amount paid for relief, S37 100000
The work at the present time can be under
stood by glance at the statistics Of 1883
which show: Forty-four thousand persons
admitted, being an average of one hundred
twenty-one per day, and over five per hour
revenue, S5,350,00O, or $4,000 per day ant
S625 per hour amount paid for relief, S2,015,
1888, or S5,523 per day and S230 per hour
The ladies lodges, known as Daughters o
Rebecca," number one thousand sixty-six
and paid for relief last year $4,000 Thes,
figures express an immense amount of gooC
| done by this great organization in practi
cal way, while its strong bonds of friendship
and brotherly love make it one of the mos
valuable of the fraternal organizations.