Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-12-23
CELEBRATION Of
FOREFATHERS' DAY
College Street Church Observes
Anniversary With Supper and
Addresses by Pastor, Dean
Perkins, Mrs. Buckham and
University Professors

The Forefathers' Day celebration at
the College Street Church last evening.
which took the form of a supper in the
church parlors at Gao o'clock followed
by brief actresses by a number of peo-
pie of the church, drew fully 200 peo-
pie. filling the parlors. The speakers
included Dean George II. Perkins who
presided; DR.. /. c. Smart the pastor of
the church; Mrs Martha r. Buckham;
Professor Samuel f. Emerson; Profess
sor w T.. Aiken and Professor Fred
erick Upper. There were musical Sc
lcctions by the church orchestra in
Guiding the singing by the entire gath
ering of two hymns which were pub
lished in 1912, and which were formerly
sung by the Pilgrims
Prof. George II. Perkins, chairman of
the meeting, in introducing the subject
of Pilgrims and Puritans, told of the
change In our conception of these peo-
pie since his youth. He also spoke OF
their rigid attendance at church and he
read menu of the Pilgrims which
would seem hearty to people of the
present generation.
DIR. SMART SPEAKS
The Reverend l. c. Smart read let
ter from Judge Seneca Haselton, re-
Smart spoke of the perseverance of
the Pilgrim character in spite of OPP
position. Illustrating this, he told of
the adventures of John Rowland in
falling into the sea while crossing to
America and how he desperately chung
TO a rope until he was at last hauled
aboard the ship by members of the
party
THE PILGRIM MOTHER
Mrs. Martha r. Buckham. addressing
the gathering on the Pilgrim Mother.
said first of all that in 1920 II would
have been impossible for a woman to
have appeared before an audience for
any purpose. She spoke of the bravery
of the comparatively youthful Pilgrim
mothers in crossing the Atlantic in
ship only about sixth as large as
the steamer Vermont on Lake Cham
plain, of the strong, reliable moral
force of these women and Of other
traits attributed to them. She told OF
the happiness of these women who had
left the beautiful pleasant cottages and
fields of England and who. after a voy-
age of over two months, had been I'M
able to land for 80 days after the May
flower arrived on this side of the
world. She told of how, inspired by the
spirit and success of these Pilgrim
mothers. a party of missionaries had
left Boston, Dec. 3, 1884. on the ship
burlington" on a long tedious voyage
, to Africa. and of their hardships on
the subsequent trip into the interior
for over 1000 miles by OK cart amid the
, roar of lions and the heat of the trop-
ical sun. She said she thought even In
the present day such hardships would
be endured If the proper leader and in
, SEPARATION were available.
NO 18TH AMENDMENT THEN
Prof. w. E. Aiken spoke Of the diff
ficulty the Pilgrims had in finding
suitable harbor and. as an illustration
of the fact that the Pilgrims were not
affected by the 18th amendment, he
said that on the 10th OF December two
days before the final landing, the beer
gave out, much to the chagrin of the
passengers of the ship.
He told of the final conquering OF
adverse weather and typographical con-
ditions and of how the single men
were quartered with families. thus
= reducing the number Of homes to
be built He spoke also Of the allot-
ment of the land He read some hum
orous accounts of the severe punish
ment for seemingly trivial offenses.
and of their placing the blame for dis
aSter on 1TONlOeHCe anu iHe Will u
God. even If the disaster were fatal to
some one and apparently due to what
we would call matter Of plain care
lessness
MANY CHANGES IN 800 YEARS
Prof $. F. Emerson spoke of the great
transformation of this country during
the relatively short space of 800 years
since the landing of the Pilgrims: of Its
y, fva,, To nj 70
expansion from the confines of a small
settlement to a vast empire extending to
the waters of the Pacific Ocean; of the
amazement that would overcome the Pill
grims If they could picture the present
with England. Holland and America COM
binng in the celebration OF the 300th an
niversary of this event. He said that
the character of the Pilgrims was such
that they rose triumphant in defeat and
disaster. He said that Rome Athens and
other cities were combined into other
nations. The Plymouth Bay Colony was
combined with that of Boston. but as the
great cities of the past had given us our
language, literature and art, the Pilgrims
had given us the present social commun-
ity and the submission Of the individual
to obedience.
SLAVES TO TRADITION
. frOresSOr RIPPER the last speaker.
said the people Of the old world were
slaves of tradition and heredity because
/, they did the same thing for generation
; after generation whether It was benefit
cial to themselves or not. He said that in
America few people lived in the same
community where they We're born, that
for many years Plymouth was the main
colony and that the people of nearby vii
lagos were dependent on that colony for
the grinding of flour and other things.
He spoke of the literature of the Pilgrims
!. being that of period long before 1920
and said that until the year 100 there was
no copy of Shakespeare In the colony. He
spoke of the solid qualities OF the Pilgrim
character of their reverence and loyalty
. to that which they believed was true.
THE HOME DEMONSTRATION ACT,
The Chittenden County Farm Bureau
. announces that Miss Elizabeth White
hill Of Plymouth, N. H., has been hired