The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-08-20

Bridgeport paid homage to the An cient Order of Hfbernians today. The city entertained something like 10000 members of that flourislling order. Perhaps it would be better to say that the 10,00O members entertained Bridge port r.tha t5is literally what they did. They furnisheds a parade, the like of which has never been witnessed in this city. They kept the streets the corner of State stret, along State Of the state all day long, enlivened the main streets with jolly folks all bent on having good time, and pro- vided big program of sports and ath- letics at Sea Breeze island this after noon. The occasion was the 43rd an nual reunion of the order, bringing together members from every nook and corner of. the state. The reunion was dignified by the presence of some of the notables of the state, incIud- ing Governor Simeon E. Baldwin and mayors and city officials from nearly every city in Connecticut. There were also present many of the National officers of the order.
 The gigantic parade of the fore noon was the big, real feature of to- days program. The doubtful weather did not danlpen the spirits zof those who participated in it and the parade was a splendid success. There were as many as 5000 people in line. The pa rade stretched from Main street at the corner of State street, along etreet to Park avenue and then as far south as the railroad viaduct. It was the largest parade of the kind ever held in the state in the opinion of many who witnessed it. The crowd which turned out to watch it was thrilled with the spirit Of the marchers and there was much applause all along the line. People crowded five and six deep on both sides of the streets along which the procession went.
 As many of the old residents of the city stood by and watched the large number Of people marching in cheer full lines which exemplified in many ways the spirit of brotherly love, their memories must have gone back to the infant days of the order and there surely must have been some to remem- Der that Bridgeport was the cradle of this large, flourishing state organi- ttion.
 ed-mille-failthe A. o. H. which is the Gaelic equivalent to Hearty Welcome greeted the visitors on ev- cry hand. Large banners bearing the above inscription were spread across bunting and decorations of all kinds graced the buildings all along the line of march and the city throughout was in holiday attire. The national flag of Ireland waved along side of that of the good old red, white and blue of these United States. Homes and residences were elaborately decorat- ed. The large, beautiful home of P. W. Wren on State street stood out in most conspicuous and splendid attire. There was large American flag in the center. backed by green flag and in combination of these was. a German flag in recognition of the as- sistance given the order by the Ger man societies in today's exercises. These decorations were symbolic of those in all parts of the city.
 The street merchants were out in vast numbers and they did a big bus mess for they found the visitors good spenders Throughout the forenoon special trains and special trolleys brought the guests into town. The Naugatuck division was the first to arrive at the railroad station this