St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1891-09-03
LOCAL NEWS.
A MEMORABLE CELEBRATION.
rcorrespondence of the caledonian.l

BENNINGTON, VT, August I'll his
week has been Bennington's busy
season, and the town could fairly
boast, for some days past, of being
the liveliest locality in the state. 1t
is only occasionally that a town of
this size gets chance to celebrate
at one and the same time two events
of so great Importance as the ded1-
cation of a battle monument and
the anniversary of a states centennl-
al; and so Bennington has made the
most possible of it. Her streets
were full, her hotels were full, and
very many of her private residences
were full, as the result of trying to
accommodate fifty thousand people
in a four thousand town.
The town was handsomely dressed,
and looked exceeding well in its miles
of bunting, it's thousands of flags,
its profusion of emblerns, notices
and inscriptions bearing directly
upon the two great topics of interest
at that particular time. Gen. Stark
and "Mollie" were given due prorni-
nence in the decorations, and con-
siderable emphasis was put upon the
fact that "Mollie' was not made
widow on that memorable 10th of
August, TIT. All the public build
ings were deliberately decorated,
while many of the private houses,
especially along the line of march,
were taken in hand by the official
decorator and dressed to kill" The
triumphal arch which stood at the
intersection of Main and North
streets, was a thing of majestic
beauty, and was the center of at
traction when, on the forenoon Of
Wednesday, it was occupied by $50
singers and thirteen young ladies
representing the original states, who
showered the president with roses
as he passed under the arch on his
way to the monument. The beauty
of the arch was enhanced at evening
time by four rows of incandescents.
Ordinarily the celebration at Ben
nington would have been regarded
as a one-day affair; but the presence
of the Vermont militia, who went
into camp there on the Friday pre-
ceding the 10th, had the effect of
making a week of it. The muster
grounds, on the spacious and invit-
ing premises of the Soldiers Home,
were the resort of thousands of
people during the week, and the fact
that Gov. Page had his headquarters
there also added to the liveliness of
the scene. Of course the soldier boys
went through with the usual routine
of camp life, but the presence of
Cushing's Battery B of the regular
army, the West Point Cadets, a por-
ton of the New Hampshire militia
and other military bodies, added
greatly to the interest of the occa-
sion, and will doubtless bear fruit bv
way of increased excellence mong
the militia of our own state. Ger
tainly some of the visiting organiza-
tons exhibited high degree of dis
cipline and training. and their
maneuvers attracted much attention
from the crowds on the camp ground.
The parade on Wednesday was a
splendid display, of which the state
and all concerned had reason to be
proud, and the crowds which throng-
ed the line of march saw much to
applaud. 1t was by far the finest
thing ever seen in the state. The
spectacle, as one stood upon the
grand stand at the monument and
looked down upon the long column
as it filed up the street and each or
ganization took the place assigned
it on either side of the noble shaft,
was a most imposing one. The
CLEAN of we'll kept armor, the glitter
of the bayonet Steel the bright colors
of attractive uniforms, combined
with an abundance of inspiring music
by the many bands present, made
tableau that will long be remember
ed. Gen. Greenleafs management of
the details of the procession was
faultless, and, with the efficient aid
given him by his assistant marshals,
made this important feature of the
day a success.
Time and space forbid going into
details as regards the makeup of the
procession Prominent in the line,
aside from the local and visiting
militia, were the Patriarchs Militant
and the Knights Templar, the latter