Norwich bulletin., 1910-06-04
NEW LONDON AND COLLEGE CREWS
What Happened when Foxy Bancroft Coached
 Harvard
VETERAN FRONT RANK OF POLICEMEN
The Fig Elm Near Salstonstall schoolhouse Planted
 Eighty Years Aao-Taling for Safe and Sane Fourth.

to go uncontradieted. It is in re- lation to the big elm tree at the corner
 of Hampstead and Truman streets near the SaItonstali schoolhouse. He said that when he was all of eight years he saw some men planting that tree and that he was permitted to put several shovels of earth about the roots, so that he could truthfuily say in the years to come that he helped plant that particular tree. The old man is William A. Hewry, an inmate of the Masonic home in Wallingford, now visiting his sister in New London. He is now eighty-e eight years Of age and therefore that particular elm was planted eighty years ago. There is a long row of these large trees on both sides of the school property and it reasonable to assume that all of the trees were planted at that time. they are all nearly of e size. If these trees were planted eighty years ago, the beautiful elfns that once adorned at least twenty-five years earlier judg- ing from their size in comparison.
 There is the annual taIIfest for a safe and sane Fourth of July, but the talk seems to have more strength than at any other time since the agi- tation to prevent the customary and time e-honored noisy demonstration that prevailed when you and I were young and when Independence Day was even bigger than a circus day, and which the boys looked forward to with joy ful anticipation from July of one year to July of the next. And now it is proposed to celebrate the most glorious and joyful occasion in American his- tory in a Sunday school sort of style with special lessons in patriotism from an almost Quaker meeting stand point. It may be proper for nice lit- tie boys and nice little girls to make a little parade and in some quiet little nook listen so some tiresome address f-s~ fl d2A1 Ah41e aNR years to come Independence Day, 90 far as goes its observance. will be made even more solemn in some re- spects than is Memorial day.
 The trouble with most of us is that we were born too long ago, and, hav- ing enjoyed the real pleasures of old fashioned Fourth of July celebrations to the limit, now want to restrain the genuine pleasure Say what you will about noise and perhaps little dam age caused by carelessness, in a noisy demonstration on that festa1 day there the half century mark that cannot truthfully say that the old way was good enough for his fathers boy and therefore ought not to be too good for his own boy, So, bring out the big gun and let the eagle scream just as has been the rule since 1776.
 The greater the noise. the greater the celebration used to be the rule. and the men of the days gone by were just as patriotic and perhaps a trifis more so, than the old chaps of the present time who dread the Glorious Fourth simply because the youth per Sst in the time-alonored custom Of celebration instituted by their an cestors., Instead of staying awake every night planning for safe and sane Fourth, just remain awake on the night of July Ed. so as to be on hand when the old town clock strikes twelve and come out fin the open with the old fowling piece or horse pistol and bang away just once more in announcing the advent of Independe- ncer Day, just as did the daddies, in the days when true patriotism pre- vailed and when everybody tried To make as much noise as possible in re- cognition of Independence Day.
 In those old days the celebration was not confined wholly to noise, for the men of long ago were patriotic in action and big processions and pat riotic speeches were added features. Nova days there are no Fourth of July processions, in New London, at least. that can be compared to those of even 45 years ago, when plans were made months fin advance for the Fourth of changed and instead or arranging for a big procession, all that can be heard in reference to the observance of the day is the so-called safe and sane va riety, with no specific order of exer- cises. Simply a case. so far as the boys are concerned, that they will be permitted to be free from attendance at school. and if they are real good, they can heaVe peanuts and ice cream, get under the shade of tn cold apple tree and there read the story of how the day was celebrated in the long ago, before their daddies had changed ideas. and were believers in the words of the latter day song: What Was Good Enough for Washington Is Good for Me"