Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1947-08-29
Famed Fishing Port Pays Annual
Testimonial to Victims of Sea
Floral Ceremony
Recalls Stirring
Fishermen, 8 Saga
WNU Features.


WNU Features.
Scatter fo,Uers on the ,Uaves;
There our fathers found their
graUes,
Brothers, sons and husbands sleep;
StretU your garlands DER the Deep"
To the strains of this hymn,
garlands of flowers are cast on
the ebbing tide as Gloucester,
Mass, picturesque seaport with
heroic traditions, pays it's an
nual testimonial to it's fishermen
who have lost their lives at sea.
Each year, new names of lost
ships and men are added to the
rolls, for fishing, despite all it's
improvements and it's growth in
to one of Americas largest food
industries, is still a hazardous
occupation.
Assembling on semi-circular ter
race reaching out into Gloucester
bay, the widows and children of
fishermen pause in reverence while
simple but beautiful tribute is paid
to the fishermen who have found
their last resting place in the ocean
that breaks on the nearby shore.
In accordance with tradition, the
service is held on a Sunday after
noon in the month of August when
the tide is going out. AS a rule,
there are only two Sundays in the
months when the tide permits
holding the ceremony, but in the
last IT years only one postponement
was necessary. The ebbing tide
runs rapidly and carries the flowers
strewn upon the water out into the
harbor.
Pause at Memorial.
A parade, held in conjunction with
the memorial rites, hats at the
Fishermen's Memorial, a silent but
enduring testimonial to Gloucester
fishermen" who have lost their lives
at sea.
The figure of the fisherman guild
ing his craft through storm and
stress, planned by citizens of Glou-
cester as permanent memorial of
the 300th anniversary observance
of the Massachusetts Bay colony in
1923, typifies the indomitable spirit
Of Gloucester, long famed as a
fishing port.
A spirited statue in bronze,
the heroic figure gazes intently
out across the harbor to the
ocean beyond, symbolizing the
romance, the fascination, the
glamour and the traditions of
the struggle with the sea that
have made Gloucester famous.
Typical of the rugged character
of the figure, the base on which the
memorial stands is rough-fnished
block of sea-green granite, quarried
from the famous BLOOD Ledge" in
nearby Bay View. A single panel
holds the inscription from the 107th
Psalm: THEY THAT GO DOWN
TO THE SEA IN SHIPS"
The figure is that of helmsman
and the pose shows him fighting
his craft up as close-hauled to the
wind as possible to clear some dan
gerous reef, his eyes being fixed on
the sails to detect the first indica-
ton that they are beginning to spill
the wind, every muscle being
strained to hold the wheel firmly
until the peril is past.
Started in 1909.
Although there were prior memo
rial services in Gloucester's his
tory as the community, over
Whelmed by some great tragedy of
the sea, felt impelled to express it's
sorrow in public ceremony, the
present fishermen's memorial serv-
ice was instituted in 1909 under aus
pieces of Gloucester fishermen's in
stitute. It has been held annually
since then, always retaining its ma
jor characteristic of brief but i'm
pressive glowing tribute to the fish,