The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-09-23

, should constitute the preliminary OIL
ganization under whose authority an
: direction should be taken such meas
ures as may be deemed necessary 0
useful to the proper celebration of tn
sesqui.centennial anniversary. Tn
nature Of the celebration Itself, tn
plans therefor and whatever is to b.
done in the way Of permanent mem
oral, must be placed under the con
trol OF some such body forthwith.
We have given much thought to tn,
subject of the permanent memorial
This must of necessity be the centra
object around which the entire cele
bration will be fashioned Either thl
inauguration, or the completion o
some great memorial enterprise of {
permanent character will be neces
sary to make possible such signili
cant celebration as the occasion mer
its. OF all the suggestions which We
have considered there are two which
stand out as Of preeminent Importance
and merit, namely, the erection OF a
/ Memorial Museum in which can be
gathered together all available relics
! illustrative OF our remarkable history
and the creation Of a Natural Park as
an additional memorial to the patriots
of whose labors and sacrifices we are
! the proud and fortunate heirs.
The Importance OF a good museum
to such a community as ours cannot
be oyerestimated Visitors to Ben.
nington are constantly expressing
their surprise at finding that we have
no histor cal museum here. This is the
greatest and most conspicuous gap in
the list of our public institutions. We
believe that this gap can be filled in a
most worthy manner without burden
to our citizens or inroads upon any
of the public treasures. Such a mus
cum as we have in mind would be
more than place in which the nat
ural curiosity of visitors could be sat
isfied. a historical museum properly
conceived and planned, and conducted
on the most approved lines Is an ed
ucatonal Institution of primary i'm.
portance. Such a museum here in Ben
nington would be most valuable ad
dition to our educational facilities, of
incalculable benefit to the coming gen
atiOns.
Certa n suggestions have been made
concerning the methods of realizing
this ideal. While 1t would be incorrect
TO speak of these suggestions as con
st.tuting matured plan, we are salts
fled that they are important enough
to receive the most careful considera-
ton, and that such consideration ought
not to be long deferred A mass meet
ing, or even large committee OF
fifty members cannot properly deal
with this matter, OF with the suggest.
ion for a memorial park. The reali.
cation of either or both Of these OBJ
iects would of necessity require in
the preliminary stages, at least Ger.
tain confidential relations which can
.Only exist in the case of a small com.
mittee. For these reasons, as we'll as
for the reason that such committee
can work most efficiently, we re.
commend that out of the personnel Of
the general citizens committee a
small executive committee be chosen
In connection with any plan for the
celebration of the sesqui-centennial up
on a large scale, it is desirable that
some authoritative body should have
prepared a comprehensive and reli.
able guide book to our historic town
and its surroundings. This should be
an illustrative volume to be sold at
cost covering all expenses incident
to its production and publication. 1t
should give a clear and authentic ae-
count of the history of Bennington; a
readable and accurate description of
every historic site and shrine in the
neghborhood; a guide to all the scenic
spendors of the locality, including its
unrivalled walks and drives; and such
an account of our present day com
munity life, our economic and other
activities, as to enable the reader to
understand the Bennington of today
equally with the Bennington of the
past The preparation of such a guide
book will entail a great deal of time,
and 1t Is not too soon to make the
preliminary arrangements for it.
OuA PAOoA an NOillllllLtCt lphCp lllN
, liberty of observing that Bennington
has never adequately realized the eco
nomic Importance of its great his
| lorical associations. There are many
sites and shrines which would com
mand the attention Of a multitude of
visitors, if they were properly marked
for easy Identification. The Benning.
ton Battle Monument Association has
already announced a partial program
Iealing with this important matter.
| Under this head our recommendation
is Of general character We recon.
mend that an earnest effort be made
during the next two years to mark
every site of any considerable his.
! tOrcal interest in the town. This
would be an easy matter if every or
| eanization in the patriotic, fra
/ ternal, civic, commercial or religious
would make itself responsible for
| at lea.t one marker. We especially d.
rect the attention of the progressive
! business men of the community to the
fact that every addition to our marked
sites means that more visitors will be
attracted to the town, and that many
Of those who come will prolong their
stay. Like our magnificent scenery
our great historic past must be count.
ed among our important economic as
sets To neglect these is folly. Let
those present at this meeting of
progressive citizens take the matter
into their numerous organizations, and
let every such organization make it.
self responsible for the erection OF