Laserfiche WebLink
Breadcrumb Navigation:
THE COVER <br />This year's cover is the fourth in suc- <br />cession that Philip B. Parsons has de- <br />signed for Lexington's annual town <br />reports. A resident of Lexington for <br />nearly forty years, Philip Parsons <br />paints for his own satisfaction primar- <br />ily, but he is well known in eastern <br />Massachusetts and in New Hampshire as <br />an art teacher and commercial artist. <br />The most recent local exhibition of his <br />water color paintings appeared in Cary <br />Memorial Library in December 1970. We <br />are fortunate indeed that he has again <br />contributed his creative talents to <br />portraying so graphically these symbols <br />of hope. <br />Mr. and Mrs. Parsons have been active <br />in the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society <br />during most of their residence here. <br />He served as the Society president in <br />1937 -1939. <br />Symbols of Hope <br />The group of children looking up at the statue of the <br />Minute Man could hardly find a spot in America where the most <br />important symbols of hope appear in clearer view. Before them, <br />resolute as the rock on which he stands, is the Minute Man, <br />ready to strive for liberty and determined to defend it once it <br />is attained. <br />Behind him rises the flag that symbolizes the tradition <br />of liberty which he fought to create and which has endured for <br />nearly 200 years. Perhaps as the children see the flag at night <br />illuminated and floating confidently, they will feel the lift of <br />inspiration that most adults do, a feeling akin to that of <br />Francis Scott Key when he saw that "the flag was still there." <br />Still farther back and rising behind the flag the chil- <br />dren see the facade of the First Church, the symbol of spiritual <br />values, wherever they are fostered: in church, synagogue, temple, <br />or in family teachings. Spiritual values too have made America <br />strong, and especially so in times of trial. <br />And what of the chidren themselves? Will they become <br />bent on overturning the "Establishment" which, in the minds of <br />some, these symbols represent? Not if the institutions symbol- <br />ized -- aided by home and school -- do their part well. Capacity <br />for change has long been the trait considered by sociologists <br />most characteristic of Americans. Surely, out of a realization <br />that desirable changes can be brought about, these serious young <br />people standing before the symbols of hope may one day help make <br />a better America, for these children too are symbols of hope in <br />a troubled world. <br />1 <br />