Milford chronicle., 1962-10-05
Dedication Of New
City Hall Was Held
Here Last Saturday
Continued from page one)

ture of Mr.. and Mrs. Vale to
Mayor Humes on behalf of t h e
Milford Chamber of Commerce.
The dedication ceremony, which
included a concert by the Milford
High School Band, under the direc-
tion of Paul Teare, was sponsored
by the city and the Chamber of
Commerce.
Rev. F. Douglas Milbury, pastor
of Calvary Methodist Church, Mil
ford, gave the invocation and the
benediction.
Two granddaughters of the Wales
and their husbands, Mr.. and Mrs.
Dossett Mccullough and Mr.. and
Mrs. Vale Ackerman, were a S o
honored guests.
In addition to the ASche family,
other honored guests were Percy
r. Haughey, about whom the toast
master spoke as follows: AT this
time, on behalf of his associates
in the Chamber of Commerce, |
want to pay a verbal tribute to
this man who, more than any
other local individual outside the
donors themselves, helped t o
bring this wonderful building to
the citizens of Milford.
Percy, through his clio e
personal friendship with the Wales,
helped to plant the seed for this
Memorial structure which all of
us and our children and our chill
dren's children will use and enjoy
for generations to come"
Other guests on the platform
were:- George IT. Reed, Jr., a
close personal friend of the Wales;
Calvin Clendaniel, the architect;
John wilkins. Sr. and John Will
kins, Jr., the builders; A. Calvin
Ball, chairman, monument COM
mittee; and ward Doc"
Furniss, chairman of the Building
Committee.
Remarks of U. S. Senator John
]. Williams (R-Del) as read by
Mr.. Yerkes:-
If the official calendar of Mil
ford has any provisions for mark
ing red letter days, l certainly
hope that the appropriate city Of
ficials have taken their brightest
red pencils and amply encircled
this date.
For this truly is, to use a phrase
which seems to be reserved for
events of this nature, an auspicious
occasion 1T is a date which should
be marked well on the Milford
official calendar, and one which |
know will be long remembered by
all of us here today.
1t should not be necessary for
me to say that l have been
honored to be invited by the Mil
| ford Chamber of Commerce to
participate in today's ceremonies.
1t is indeed a pleasure, and one
which | shall not soon forget.
There is, of course, one sad note
to what otherwise would be a truly
festive occasion. And that is the
absence of the two people W h 0
should occupy the seats of honor
on this platform, Mr.. and Mrs.
ever, that in the spot which they
occupy in the hearts of all t h e
citizens of Milford they would find
more than just reward for the
magnificent contribution W h h
they have made to this community.
1t has been said, If there is any
truer measure of a man than by
what he does, it must be what he
gives" By that Just standard, Mr..
and Mrs. Ruby Vale must certain
ly shine. Their lives on earth were
ones of doing, and now that they
have parted, the gift is given.
1t would be a tragic mistake,
however, for us to look upon this
magnificent structure, with i t S
graceful colonial lines and i t S
| functional beauty, as S imply a
building valued at so many dollars.
| 1t is much more than that, and the
smallest value it possesses is the
one which is measured b y
monetary standards.
Mr.. and Mrs. Vale have given of
themselves not just "a monument
to which local citizens can point
| with pride to out-of-town visitors
= although they can certainly do
that - they have given a living
edifice, a home for the govern
ment of this city, a working, vital
part of community life.
/ would like to think, also, that
this bright new city hall will serve
more than just the routine busi-
| ness functions and offices of a city
such as Milford / would like to
| think that it would serve yet an
other purpose the purpose of
| focusing attention on the need for
stronger and more + e pom S i v e
government at the local-the city
level. Magnificent new buildings
do not really serve any purpose,
| except to house people and their
| activities. But in the sense that
anything new gives us a refreshed
outlook, / hope that this building
will stimulate in the hearts and
minds of all Milford citizens a re-
sponsive government in the COM
more responsible, and more re-
newed desire to work for a better,
munity.
We have entered the age where
the fashion seems to be, first for
the states, now for the cities, to go
hat in hand to Washington for the
solution to problems which can
best be handled here at the local
level. And more and more a grow
ing bureaucracy in Washington is
more and more eager to accept
them The result can only be a
diminution of the authority a n d
responsibility of citizens to deal
with their local problems where
| tta1v eb1,,Id No l,apJ1aI J,t