The Newtown bee., 1906-09-14
BRlDGEWATER.
Semi-Centernial Gel
ebratlOn.
THE TOWN DOES ITSELF
PROUD.
A Fine Dinner and Eloquent
Speeches.
NINE HUNDRED PEOPLE
PRESENT.

An ideal September day was Thurs
| day of last week, the day set apart for
| the Semi-Centennial celebration, ar
ranged by the citizens Of Bridgewater.
For some weeks the officers and COM
mittees of the Bridgewater Old Home
Day association had been perfecting
arrangements, SO that when Thursday
dawned, so complete and perfect were
the arrangements that the event has
passed into history as
ONE OF THE MOST DELIGHTFUL AF-
FAIRS OF ITS KIND EVER HELD IN
THIS SECTION.
By IL O'Clock double and single teams
began to come into Bridgewater from
north, south, east and west, New
Milford and RQxbury being more large
ly represented'than others OF the near
by towns. Newtown, Brooktie]d, Sher-
| man, Washington and Woodbury. were
| well represented in the company: The
place chosen for the gathering was an
ideal one, under the trees near the
Town ball. Tables had been spread
for $50 people, and they were filled
twice by the visitors whose appetiteS
had been whetted by the long drive
to the beautiful hilltop. 1t was about
l O'Clock when dinner was announced
by President Sanford. Especial cour-
tesy was shown the Out-Of- town guests,
who were provided with seats at the
first table. The dinner left nothing
to be desired. The provision was
abundant, and the repast inviting and
toothsome: Chicken, cold meats,
and coffee. The tables were waited
upon by the fair misses and matrons
Of BridgeWater, who were aSSiduOuS in
their attentions to the wants Of their
guests. The clans were cooked to q
turn. The ladies who had charge Of
the dinner were: Miss Mary Morris,
Mrs G. N. Hatch, Mrs S. P. Treat,
Miss Mabelle F. Sanford, Mrs John H
Randall, Mrs Burton Garfield and Mrs
E. r. Wooster.
The Woodbury. band, stationed on
music during the day. They were
generously applauded by the Gro wd
from time to time.
THE PROGRAM FOR THE AFTERNOON
opened at about O'Clock, Henry G.
Sanford, president of the Old Home
Day association, presiding. In extend
ing a word of welcome, he said the
present residents of Bridgewater take
an interest in those who have gone out
Of the town, n,~take sort of reflected
glory in what you have done. He first
introduced Attorney Fred L. Keeler
Of Bridgeport.
Mr. Keeler spoke as follows: "When
your committee invited me to be pres
ent here to-day to make speech i
hesitated about saying whether I
would come or not, for if there is any
thing in the whole list of my activities
that comes hard for me to do it is to
mako q Snnaoh and IL onpooo fn,1h1v
hard for me to address an audience Of
my old acquaintances and former asso-
ciates. In the language of the late
Bill Nye, My thoughts come hard and
something like felOn.' l debated in
my mind whether l would prefer2 to
remain away and miss the enjoyment
of this celebration or whether would |
prefer being here after cold sweat
for week in anticipation Of address,
ing you. My desire to be here over
came my aversion to speaking, and
now that | am here,, for some reason
or other, [ feel quite at ease and at |
home, and in harmony with the spirit |
of this occasion, however my appear
ance may indicate to the contrary. |
And before l proceed l want it dis |
tinctly understood that my regaling |
you with speech, if this talk can be |
SO dignitied, is chargeable to your COM
mittee and not to any aspirations of |
my own.
Your committee told me that l |
could talk upon any subject l chose to |
select, but up to this moment l have
made no selection; but the subject |
my mind at this time is your hospital
ity, and l think l could make speech |
upon that subject: but it would be in
poor taste for me to attempt to tell |
the people of Bridgewater anything
about hospitality.
l don't come to you with any mes
sage nor to preach you any doctrine, or
to urge upon you any reform. l have
not theories to exploit. am simply
here in obedience to that sentiment
that draws everyone to his home and
surely there is no sentiment more en-
titled to be indulgently treated than
that under the influence of which
WE GATHER AROUND THE CLAM BAKE
AND SMOKE THE PIPE OF PEACE
together.
l must confess that l am not famil
lar with the history of old home Gel
ebratiOnS and know nothing of their
purposes other than the name implies.
1t surely has to do with the awakening
or Old associations and with calling
back to the paternal hearth, so to
speak, the children of the town that |
have launched forth in life, and to talk
over the things Of the past. This is, l
believe, the 5Oth anniversary'of Bridge
waters birth into separate political
existence as one of the self-governing
towns Of the historic Commonwealth
of Connecticut. Fiftieth anniversaries
from time immemorial have been ob-
served as times for rejoicing and con-
graduation, and we do well to follow
the tradition in having this our jubilee.
Those Of us who went forth to battle
with life on wider stage cannot but
feel a just pride in the self-respecting
dignity and absolute. fidelity with
which this town has discharged all the
duties OF self-gOvernment for the en-
tire SO years of it's existence. May l |
venture to say as one who 10 years ago
left the town, that l cherish among |
my most precious memories recollec-
tions of my boyhood here, and that
whatever of success may have attend
ed, or, may attend, my efforts, I ascribe,
or shall ascribe, in large measure, to
the wholesome life that l saw all |
around me here in my childhood.
Those who have come back to the old |
home for this jubilee, and I see many |
such, will miss some, perhaps many, |
Of what in one Of the most tenderly |
human poems of the English language. !