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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1949 - Report of the War Memorial Committee to Annual Town Meeting Under Article 2 . William E. Phillips presented the report of the Lexington War Memorial Committee reading as follows _REPORT OF THE LEXINGTON WAR MEMORIAL COMMITTEE To the Town Meeting Members: In accordance with the vote of the Town Meeting of April 1 , 1946, at which time the Moderator was instructed to appoint a comm- ittee to study the matter of a War Memorial and report to a future Town Meeting, your committee hereby submits the following report : From the outset the committee unanimously agreed that its study should be directed toward finding a useful living memorial that would especially benefit the youth of succeeding generations. For several months thereafter , the committee , individually and collective- ly, combed every source of information for ideas suited to this ob- jective. This search included contacts with similar committees and projects throughout New England, extensive sifting of suggestions from all sources , and an editorial by Mr. Alan Adams in the Minute Man inviting everyone locally to propose any possible ideas. Our aim in this search was to be all inclusive , despite our agreed ob- jective of a memorial that would benefit present and future youth of our Town. When this committee was satisfied that all possible projects had been presented , prolonged discussion of the merits of each of them led to a preliminary listing of the ten best ideas in each- member's judgment. This revealed that the committee considered twenty projects suitable for further discussion. Again we weighed each of them, both as to its value to the community and as a fitting War Memorial. Once again we took a vote , selecting the ten best of the twenty projects under consideration and rating them one , two , three and up to ten. The result was astonishing. By an overwhelming margin three projects stood out from all the rest and the one that we shall recommend in this report ranks considerably above the other two. In fact , the practical unanimity , without our having sought it , so surprised us that we considered some form of Town plebescite , lest we be guilty of coming to an agreement too easily and readily. Various means of sounding the town's opinion were discussed at three meetings. Each presented such difficulties that it was finally decided, instead , to publicize the ten pro jects through the columns of the Minute Man. Accordingly such a report to the citizens was madein a story published last summer. Suggestions to the committee were invited and the committee followed this up with discussion with anyone who was willing to listen . 264 When deliberations were resumed after the summer, the committee had crystallized its thoughts, after discussing them with the towns- people , to the point where it was convinced that its first choice of P-rj a project was outstanding and that it should be so recommended. Accordingly, the committee recommends : (1) That , when the new highschool is constructed, the library therein be distinctively decorated, furnished and equipped; that it be dedicated as a living memorial to the war dead of this Town, and designated as the VETERAN 'S MEMORIAL LIBRARY. (2) That the Moderator appoint a committee of not less than seven to develop the details and cost of this Memorial Library in co-operation with the High School Building Committee , and report to a future Town Meeting. (3 ) That the Town amend its by-laws so that annually a comm- ittee of three shall be appointed by the Board of Selectmen to serve as the Veteran's Memorial Library Committee , for the purpose of perpetuating the usefulness of this living memorial . Respectfully submitted, LEXENGTON WAR MEMORIAL COMMITTEE Clyde A. Booker George V. Morse Lyon Carter A. Edward Rowse Archibald R. Giroux Robert H. Watt Jennie A. Grindle William E. Phillips , Steele Lindsay Chairman Lexington , Mass. March 21, 1949 Voted to be accepted and placed on file. 8:06 P. M.