Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-08-15

settlers. In the war of 1872 her sons
bore an honorable part. Gathered here
this day are the survivors of the Grand
Army, men who followed the flag from,
the first disaster at Bull Run to its
day of awful triumph at Appomattox.
Your historian records a long list of
men from DixmOnt enrolled in the Civil
War. At Spottsylvania. one of your
SONS dying cried out: One more shot
for liberty and as he raised his mus
ket, his spirit departed on that same
field. Another, pierced with a bullet.
continued to fight until he sent 20
charges into the enemy when he fell
exhausted.
"At Winchester fell Young Harris
whom you honor in the name Of your
local G. A. r. post. At Gettysburg.
these men followed the flag to its
bloody baptism. on Round Top with
the gallant Chamberlain, in the peach
orchard, in the wheat field, your faith
ers dared and died. Fellow citizens. we
salute the dead. We offer this simple
tribute to those who live.
THE day is coming when some one
will write the thrilling story of our
pioneer preachers. Almost every de-
nomination has high honor men in the
bonored son to plant the cross in the
far away land of the red men. They
became the pioneer scholars, statesmen
and nation builders.
1.-THE first itinerants of Dixmont were
the worthy successors of the early band
of gospelers. The Sewalls and Levejoy
who founded the church in which we
meet today and it is worth remember
ing that this old church is just a CEN
fury old. Born with the town, she has
shared it's defeats and victories. We re-
member today, John Chadbourne, the
ancestor of our own beloved Sumner
whose spirit is with us, whose memory
is among the priceless riches of the
town. There was Lambert and Coburn,
who SO valiantly fought for the faith
once delivered to the saints. There was
Risby who thrilled all America with
his stirring denunciation of slavery.
recall only a few of these names, that
we may catch their spirit and initiate
their virtues and perpetuate their men,
Dry.
Life is an inheritance and an
achievement. The Inheritance is ours,
from God, from these hills and from
the fathers and mothers. This inheri-
lance is unspeakably grand. The
achievement is our part, aided by cour-
age and wisdom.
Courage we must have or we will
falter and fail in sight of the goal.
Courage we need to face life's doubts,
LIES realities, lifes trials, fearlessly
and patiently. Wisdom we must have,
that our inheritance may yield us gold,
rather than dross, wisdom that we
may never let the scOrn, contempt and
neglect of time and men swerve us
from our purpose or to destroy our
souls, humor. joy and kindness.
1.-THE church, the school and the town
meeting seem commonplace enough to-
day, but they give birth to courage and
wisdom and so constitute our inheritance.
The founders were ever men Of insight
and vision, therefore they toiled. sacri-
feed and endured seeing the invisible
outreach and might of democracy.
eve are in the midst of new days and
new ideals, we are dealing with new and
strange forces. we are about to write
new epic. This time the reality will put
to shame the romances and fairy stories
of the ancients We have made unthink
able progress in the mechanic arts, we
have advanced in fine arts, we have add
ell tn literature, we have given the world
scholars, statesmen and soldiers. We
have but to be true to the past to realize
the high destiny of which our fathers
dreamed, for which they struggled, des-
out ignorance caste, prejudice and tyran-
ny.
''The final victory of the republic is for
us and our children. We are already en-
tering upon our great task to secure good
government, honest finance. just indus
trial conditions and wise education. Free
dom stood by the cradle of the republic.
Her marrow is in our bones. her granite
in our wills, her reason in our brain and
her fire in our blood; therefore we can
not fail.
"Cne hundred years of preparation, now
men and women of Dixmont go up and
possess the promised land, to you the gift
of Goa, the achievement Of noble fathers.
See that her forests are preserved, that
her fields are cultivated by the light of
science, that her roads invite travel that
her schools produce scholars. that he-
churches teach the gospel of justice, for
giveness and love"