1975-Annual Report - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

Town Celebrations Committee D URING 1975 THE TOWN CELEBRATIONS COMMITTEE acted as a sub - committee of the bicentennial committee. Although we had a small independent budget, most of our expenses (particularly for Patriots Day) were paid for by funds in the bicentennial committee's budget. T.C.C. retained its responsibilities for Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Our activities for Patriots Day, although much the same as in other years, were supervised by the bicentennial committee. Consequently, most of the details of the town's bicentennial celebration are in the report of the bicentennial committee. The following paragraphs sum- marize only T.C.C.'s part in Patriots Day and give information on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. PATRIOTS DAY (April 19) The events scheduled for the day remained almost the same as they have been for the past several years. Two exceptions were the visit by President Ford and the omission of the luncheon for our invited guests. The town manager's office took care of all details of the President's visit. Concord provided lunch for their guests and most of Lexington's were included. The re- enactment of the 1775 skirmish on the Battle Green at 6:00 A.M. began the day's activities. An alarm on the bell of the Old Belfrey and the bells of several churches in town announced the coming of the British play- ed by the 10th Regiment of Foot from Chelmsford and other recreations of colonial British forces. The crowd that watched was a large one and not many in it could get a really good view of the re- enactment. This problem - -the only one of any consequence - -will continue as long as the re- enactment takes place on the Battle Green; there's little chance that it will be done in another location. The excellent TV coverage of the re- enactment (and the afternoon parade) gave most people their best look at what was going on. Mark Doran, president of the class of 1975, Lexington High School, was the chief marshal of the morning parade and master -of- ceremonies at the Battle Green exercises that followed it. Patrice Kenney and Chris Anderson, both seniors at the high school, were his first and second division marshals respectively. Although many more young people marched in the morning parade there seemed to be fewer people watching it than in many recent years. The parade followed its usual route up Massachusetts Avenue to Bedford Street and to Harrington Road then on to the Battle Green. To permit more time for people and participants to get from the re- enactment to the parade, its scheduled start was delayed from 7:00 A.M. until 7:30 A.M. Battle Green ceremonies followed their usual format and were the only formal exercises of the day. Harvey Smith, president of the Lexington Lions Club, presented the annual White Tricorne Hat Award to Richard Michelson. Captain Robert Marrigan, Commander, Lexington Minute Men, presented their Lawrence C. Stone Memorial Award to Tom Hubert of the Hayden Recreation Center's drum corps. During the morning, breakfasts sponsored by the Lexington Rotary Club and the Lexington- Bedford Kiwanis Club, exercises by the Lexington Minute Men with the Lexington Chapter, D.A.R., and concerts by some of the after- noon parade participants entertained visitors until the President's arrival. After his visit, Revere and Dawes made their usual visit to the Battle Green with greetings from the Mayor of Boston to the Lexington selectmen. The afternoon parade, most ably commanded by James Broderick, chief marshal, assembled without major problems at the high school. Whether the inclement weather or advance publicity emphasizing possible traffic problems (or both) discouraged many visitors, the tie -ups we anticipated never materialized. The assembly area provided adequate space for parking vehicles and assembling the many units and excellent communications between the chief 12