St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-05-31
OUR SOLDIER DEAD.
How St. Johnsbury Grand Army
Honored the Memory Of Those
Departed.

If ever Memorial day was made
weather man furnished the old
soldiers on Tuesday and everyone
voted it perfect. In the morning de-
tails carried the flowers which the
children had brought to Grand Army
hall to the different cemeteries of
the town and with reverent hands
made beautiful the graves of our
soldier dead. At noon Chamberlin
w. r. G. served dinner in their hall
to the members of Chamberlin Post
and visiting comrades. Early in the
afternoon the annual procession was
formed on Main street and marched
via Mt. Pleasant street to the Union
school where the usual exercises by
the school children were given. These
exercises which consist largely of
music are greatly appreciated by the
old soldiers and would not be given
up for anything. In the procession
were the St. Johnsbury Band, Har-
mony Band, Palestine Commandery,
No. 5, K. t., Apollo Lodge, K. P. L.
| O.. o. f., the Champlafn Guard of St.
John the Baptist society, Company
D, the Boy scouts, Chamberlin Post,
Capt. q. B. Frost Camp, S. of ", and
carriages and automobiles contain
ing disabled veterans, the orator of
the day, and members of Chamberlin
w. r. G. From the school the process
sion passed to the Court House
square where the Grand Army ritual
was carried out. In front of the Col
onial the parade disbanded and the
customary exercises were held. Jo-
seph Fairbanks was the presiding Of
ficer and the st. Johnsbury Band fur
nished music. Prayer was offered
by Rev. E. e. Phillips and Mrs. G. M.
Bonett read Lincoln's address at
Gettysburg. A very feeling exercise
etitled The Vacant Chair was given
by members of Chamberlin W. R. G.
A chair was decorated with an Ameri-
can flag and crepe and as Adjutant
Ross called the roll, when the names
of those comrades who nave passed
on during the last year were read a
flower was laid in the vacant chair.
The exercises included the singing of
The Vacant Chair by Mrs. Clara
Dodge. The orator of the day was
Rev. G. w. G. Hill, d. D., and his
address on ssThe Growth of the
American Principle" was deeply ap-
preciated. The principle referred to
by the speaker was the spirit of liber-
ty and he outlined its history from
the days of Columbus down to 1911,
dwelling particularly on the days
from 1861 to 1865 when liberty
seemed in such danger. He referred
at some length to the declaration of
independence and the history of the
slave traffic in America showing how
impossible the very idea of slavery
was in a free nation, and how equal
ly impossible it was to preserve the
union" so long as slavery existed.
Lincoln gave the principle of liberty
its sublimest justification when he
signed the emancipation proclama-
ton. The triumph of the war was
the American principle over it's enc
mics everywhere. The greatest claim
to honor of the veterans is not their
wounds nor their battles but that
they stood for liberty and made pos
sible it's preservation. The day clos
ed with campfire in the evening in
charge of Mrs. L. N. Smythe. The |
program consisted of piano solos, |
Ruth Flint; trombone solo, Harry |
Moore; vocal duet, Mrs. Clara Dodge
and Mrs. Smythe; piano solo, Ivan
Hunter; recitation, ellen Macomber;
exercise, grades 8 and 8, Summer
vile school; reading, Mrs. Grace But
terfield; remarks, Elisha May; des-
cription of the Confederate flag, G. I
Felch; reading Rev. F. S. Tolman;
address, Rev. e. E. Phillips on Work |
of the S. of v.