The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1894-04-13
THE RIFLES, RECEPTION.

The opening of the new armory to tht
public, Tuesday evening, was one of the
events of the season. The suite ol
rooms, located in the third story of the
Opera House block, comprises recep
tiOn and club room, parlor, quartermas
ter's and officers quarters. They are
handsomely furnished and fitted up, the
parlor ond officers rooms being carpeted
with new Brussels carpets. The furni-
ture IN the former is oak, in the latter
black walnut and plush. The officers
room is fitted with handsome oak ward
robe and drawers, over the door of each
being shoulder straps to denote which
officer it belongs to. The quartermas.
ter's room is fitted with lockers, one for
each member of the company, with
spring lock in each door, no two locks
being alike.
The reception room and parlor are
connected by large folding doors, so that
when opened both rooms together give
room in which the company can be
formed with full front. In the room is
also the rack for the guns and tables and
chairs for use of the company club.
This was the sixth anniversary under
the present name, but, as our readers
know, the organization dates back to
1876, when it was called the Park Guard.
The quarters are heated with steam,
lighted by electricity, and the rooms of
Sixth Corps Post, G.. A. R., on the same
floor, were placed at the disposal of the
company. The banquet was spread in
the large banquet hall connected with
the Odd Fellows hall. opened to the
public for the first tune. Three hundred
invitations had been sent out, and some
two hundred responded and were pres
ent. The decorations of flags, the mill
tary uniforms, the full dress of ladies
and gentlemen, presented an attractive
sight. The reception began at o'clock.
On behalf of the officers, Mrs. Col. L. F.
Abbott received, assisted by Mrs. Col.
Scott, Mrs. Maj. Evans, Mrs. Lieut..
Davis. On behalf of the privates, Mrs.
ii. S. Bingham received, assisted by Mrs.
Col. Kinsman, Mrs. Col. Bates, Mrs.
Maj. Cotfey, Miss Coffey, Mrs. Lieut..
Hover. The banquet followed. 1t was
an elegant spread. The postprandials
were held in the club room and parlor,
and Col. Olin Scott presided. Address
es were made by the presiding officer,
by Capt. Ii. D. Fillmore, Col. E. L.
Bates, Rev. Chss. r. Seymour, Col. c.
Q. Kinsman, Secretary 7. J. Hoyt of the
Y. M. G. A., Maj. Coffey and Col. Puffer.
The musical selections by the orchestra
and the solos by Mrs. Mary Merrill and
Misses Mamie Sullivan and Mary Loomis
added much to the pleasure of the occa-
sion.
As will be seen there we're quite
number of officials present. Among
them we note: Col. G. G. Kinsman of
Rutland, commanding the First Regi-
ment; Major G. l.. Evans, commanding
the Second battalion; Lieut.. H. L.
Hover, adjutant of the same. The Gov
ernor was represented by Col. e. L.
Bates of his staff. Brigadier General
Estey, commanding the N.G.V., was rep
resented by Maj. r. J. Coffey of his
staff. Former officers of the company
were represented by Col Olin Scott
The N. g. s. Nv Y, was represented by
First Lieutenant and Surgeon F. II. Hud-
son and Second Lieutenant Walter A.
Wood, Jr., of the Thirty-second Separate
Company of Hoosick Falls, N. Y. The
q. A. r. was represented by Past De-
partmenT Commander A. B. Valentine,
the Patriarchs Militant by Col. N. NJ.
Puffer, commanding the Vermont Regi-
ment; the village officers by H. S. Bing-
ham, president. 1t was late hour
when the party broke up, with the good
wishes for the success of Company K.