Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-06-02
MEMORIAL EXERCISES IN MlDpLEsuRv.

LIE SEiNN lCEo ON SONDA1 AND YIN OEC-
GRAFTON DAY.
The usual Memorial services were held
in the town hall at o'clock Sunday af-
ternoon. Post Russell and the Sons of
Veterans attended in body, and there
was so large an attendance of citizens
that the hall was pretty well filled up.
Music was provided by a mixed choir
of ladies and gentlemen, in charge of
Mr.. Hesselgrave of the college, Mr.. Saw
yer of the college presiding at the organ.
Rev. a. w. Dickens made the opening
prayer, and Rev. Mr.. Lyons, pastor of
the Baptist church, read passages from
the Scriptures. The Memorial dscourse e
was delivered by Rev. C. F. Noble. 1t
was one of the best and most appropriate
discourses of the kind ever heard in Mid
dlebury, and the Grand Army men as
well as the citizens in general were great
ly pleased with it. 1t is to be hoped that
Rev. Mr.. Noble will be heard here again
in the same vein. AT the conclusion of
the discourse, after music, Mr.. Noble Of
fered brief prayer, and the exercises of
the day came TO conclusion at 4 80
o'clock with the benediction, pronounced
by Rev. Mr.. Dickens.
DECORATION DAY.
n6 eAcTClSeS anu SeTVlCeS On DeCOTd-
tion day were carried out most success
fully this year in Mddlebury. An un-
usually large number of people were in
town, all the surrounding country
places contributing literally of their in
habitants and many coming on the 40
morning trains from the north and
south. By the middle of the forenoon
the principal streets were filled with
people on foot and in carriages, and it
was not until pretty well along towards
evening that the crowds diminished pre-
ceptihly. Some people think that there
were more people here than on any
preceding Decoration day, but, however
that may be, the crowd was certainly a
very large and most orderly one.
Except for brisk but brief furry Of
wind and rain in the afternoon, the day
was an almost ideal one for such an ac-
casion. 1t was neither too cool nor too
warm, and those who had arrived early
in town found no difficulty in passing
the three or four hours before the exer-
cises were to begin.
At 80 o'clock in the morning Post
VIM. p. Russell assembled in their hall
and at proceeded in body to the
Catholic church, on invitation of Rev.
Father Gelot. the pastor. There a Me-
mortal requiem high mass was celebrated,
after which the post returned to their
hall and disbanded until after dinner.
The procession to the cemeteries was
to have been started at O'Clock, but it
was nearly 2 when the line of march
was formed and the column began to
move. The head of the column was
near the Addison House, on the Wash
ington street side, and the line was
formed down along Court street. Ed
son p. Williamson was the marshal of
the day and Frank Goodro served as his
aid. This was the order of the march:
Ferrisburgh Cornet band, p pieces, A. d.
Vittum, leader; S. n. Allen, drum major.
Mt Calvary Commandery OF Knights Temp
lar, 50 men, all mounted and in 1ull regalia,
Col. Thad NJ. Chapman, marshal.
Camp A. S. Tracy, Sons OF Veterans, No 25,
with II detachment OF l2 men from n. f.
Dunshee camp No. SO of Bristol, headed by
corps, all under Charles F. Rich, captain.
William p Russell Post, G. A. r., No. 60,
John III. Sargent, commander.
Volunteers OF 'SS Hose company, l5 men,
W. G. Foote, foreman.
Carriage containing the speaker of the
day and local clergymen.
Carriage containing members OF the
Ladies' AID society
The mammoth wagon containing "a young
girls dressed in white to act as flower girls,
representing each Vermont regiment and
battery and soldiers sleeping in unknown
graves; in charge OF Chauncey Clark and
Frank Mahew.
Then came long line of people in car
riages, while the sidewalks overfiowed
with people on foot. 1t was perhaps the
longest Decoration-day procession ever
seen in Middlebury. Certainly it was
one of the longest.
Arrived at the West cemetery, a hollow
square was formed around the mound
ff.,rr fhnr 90
dead. Chaplain Byron Fleming offered
prayer, Adjutant Charles Youtt read the
orders of the day and Commander Sar-
gent read the services according to the
ritual prescribed for the day. Rev. G. f.
Noble, pastor of the Middlebury Metho-
dist church, offered prayer and the bene-
dictiOn was pronounced by Rev. j. C.
Houghton. The band provided appro-
pirate music. After the benediction the
unknown soldiers grave was decorated
and then the graves of the soldiers of our
various wars in both cemeteries, which
had previously been marked with flags,
were tastefully decked by the flower girls
under the direction of committees ap-
pointed for the purpose. This concluded
the exercises proper of the day at the
cemeteries, and start was then made to
return to the village. AS rain storm
was imminent, no attempt was made to
reform the procession, and except the
band, the veterans and sons of veterans,
all got back with as much speed as they
could.
There are sixty graves of known sol.
diers IN the West cemetery and ten in the
Catholic cemetery. Three members of
Post Russell, George Norton, Charles
Huntington and b. F. Owens, have been
buried in the West cemetery within the
past year, and George McCue was laid at
rest in the Catholic ground just two days
before the last Decoration day.
1t took considerable time to get the au-
dience seated in the town hall, and 1t was
3 o'clock before the exercises there COM
menced, at which time nearly every seat
was taken and later many had to stand.
Seated on the stage were Hon. VIM. p.
Dillingham; of Waterbury, the speaker OF
the day, the clergy, Commander Sargent,
the flower girls and the members of the
vocal quartet, Messrs. Hesselgrave, Cush-
man and Toleman of the college and Mr.
Lovett from the marble mills.
After music by the quartet prayer
was offered by Rev. j. C. Hougton,
and than mora ,,,ncfo TOnn-