The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1920-06-19
ODD FELLOWS
PAY TRIBUTE
TO THEIR DEAD
Atty. J. R0lfe Searles Deliv-
ers Memorial Address at
Mt. Pleasant Cementery

ers Memorial Address at
Mt. Pleasant Cementery
The annual Memorial day exercises
OF the Caledonia Lodge, No. 6, |. O.
q. F., of st. Johnsbury were held in
Mt. Pleasant cemetery and over 50
members OF the lodge met in the
lodgcroom and marched to the GEM
otcIy. The services were very i'm
prcssively conducted under the direc-
ton Of L. F. Grimes, noble grand.
A special address for the occasion
was given in mastery style by Atty.
J. Rolfe Searles. He said in part:
"My Brothers, in accordance with
long established custom, VIC have met
here today to pay tribute to the
memories of our departed brothers.
"Our pledge, one to the other, of
friendship forever, is not limited by
life's span, but through succeeding
generations of brethren acts as
be nd and ablessing even unto Eter-
nifty.
"A proper respect for this pledge
requires that these Memorial services
be regularly observed, and so long
as they are so observed, the memory
Of our departed brothers will live and
grow even as the foliage on that row
of green trees that marks the historic
ana emblematic Jordan. Moreover,
these services, while intended more
especially to commemorate the lives
and to perpetuate the memories of
our departed brothers, also bring
honor to the living in that they dem
onstrate the strength that lies in the
warp and wool of our binding tie to
b. even asst hat of the pines on the
mountain side, and they also give in
spiration to all who learn of them in
that the whole world loves those
words fidelity reaches beyond the
grave.
1T quickens the heart and brings
peace to the mind to contemplate the
fact that scattered throughout the
world, in every walk of life, more
than two-million of these generous,
openhanded friends and brothers, Wis
it the sick, relieve the distressed,
bury the dead and educate the or
plan.
"A like contemplation of that vast
amy of brothers whose life lines
have been cut by the grim reaper,
some in the glo"y of the morning of
life, others at its meridian, and
many others at its westering when
they have gladly put aside their bur
dcns and laid their weary bodies
down to rest awhile amid the length
erlng shadows Of life's evening, more
than 100 of whom are sleeping in
this cemetery, brings with it feel
ing of deep melancholy and pro-
found sorrow.
1--WE wish that time was sufficient
to give each of those worthy lives
tie individual eulogy they deserve,
Blu. that being impossible, none shall
be honored above the rest as the
memory of all brothers is equally
dear and equally estimable. Suffice
it to say; they believed truth to be
the imperial virtue; they kept the
filth; and we again commend them
to Gods tender care.
"Many of us have brothers here to
whom we were also bound by strong
ties of blood, and those of US who
are so afflicted can well take COM
fort from the poets thought that,
"Alike are life and death,
Where life in death survives,
And the uninterrupted breath
Inspires thousand lives.
Were a star quenched on high,
For ages would its light,
Still travelling downward from the
Sky,
Shine on our mortal sight,
So when a great man dies,
For years beyond our ken,
The light he leaves behind him lies,
Upon the paths of men,"
"My brothers, in closing, let me
saw that there is one order to which
| and many of you belong whose
motto is "The faults of our brothers
We write on the sands, their virtues
on the tablets of love and memory"
| believe this to be a good guide for
Us in our daily lives, and when we
shah die, be it late or soon, let mer-
ciful memories be our only shroud.