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December 7, 1973
From 1776 to the present, the Town of Lexington has felt a proud
obligation to commemorate the 19th of April, Patriots ' Day The cele-
bration of the Bicentennial during 1975 and 1976, however, offers an
unprecedented opportunity to evaluate the country's past achievements,
to consider the problems and opportunities presently confronting us,
and to reflect upon our aspirations for the future
Now in its third year, the Lexington Bicentennial Committee (LBC)
has been meeting weekly since the fall, realizing that the time for
detailed planning is now upon us Current members of the committee are
Kingston Howard, Chairman; Steven Politi, Vice-Chairman; Rebecca
Nussdorfer, Executive Secretary; Raymond Barnes, Celebrations; Roland
Greeley, Facilities ; Richard Michelson, Commercial Relations; Miriam
Butts, Arts and Culture; Rudolph J Fobert, School Relations; Lincoln
P Cole, Jr , Government Relations; Anthony Mancini, Legal Relations ;
Alan G Adams, Public Relations ; Reverend Harold T Handley, Church
Relations
A decision of the Board of Selectmen has placed the responsibility
for logistical planning and implementation within the jurisdiction of
the Town Manager A Director of Plans and Operations has been authorized
and Robert Tarlin has been hired for that position. Offices have been
assigned the Bicentennial Committee at the Visitors ' Center The Select-
men also established an LBC Executive Committee, now in the process of
re-examining and strengthening existing committees and determining needs
for additional ones Some new committees currently being organized include
Senior Citizens, Food Service, Youth Activities, Visitors ' Service,
Communications, Media Relations, and VIP invitations j
The program of events for Bicentennial I, the four-day weekend
surrounding April 19, 1975, is rapidly nearing formalization and is
planned to be as follows
Friday. Civic and fraternal dinners, receptions and dances
launch the Bicentennial, followed by the reenacted
arrival of Paul Revere and William Dawes at midnight
Saturday Activities begin at dawn with the reenactment of the
Battle on Lexington's Green. The White Tricorne Hat
will be awarded and the traditional Youth Parade will
be held At 11 30, the Lexington Minute Men will
escort the Daughters of the American Revolution to
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Saturday the Green for their wreath-laying ceremony The
afternoon events will begin with a VIP luncheon
followed by the annual Patriots ' Day Parade.
Approximately sixty marching units, plus the
Centennial Legion and some outstanding floats will
follow the new parade route Receptions will be
held after the parade] and an evening program is
planned
Sunday. The day will be reserved for religious services
and dedications The President of the United States
has been invited to share in the rededication of the
Battle Green in ceremonies appropriate to the solemnity
and significance of the occasion, based on our theme,
"Pride in Our Past - Faith in Our Future"
Monday. A variety of youth sporting events and other sporting
activities with spectator interest is planned, pro-
vided this date remains a legal State holiday
Many ceremonial events and tributes which cannot be scheduled into
Patriots ' Day weekend will be programmed over the next eighteen months
(Bicentennial II) This will include the ceremonial proceedings of Memorial
Day, Independence Day, Bunker Hill Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day In
addition the Arts and Culture Subcommittee of the LBC is planning many events
designed primarily for Lexington townspeople, and has enlisted the aid of
local corporations, commercial institutions, schools, churches, and civic
and fraternal organizations Activities will primarily take the form of
musical and artistic events, exhibits of a bicentennial nature, commemorative
publications, and a miscellany of projects such as historical bicycle and
walking tours, planings, foreign guides, etc The Masterworks Chorale,
having won a federal matching grant, will perform "New England Chronicle
Sweet Freedom's Song"
Major logistics support areas for Bicentennial I, include augmented
fire protection, traffic control, and crowd control facilities Many other
support areas requiring detailed planning and implementation include first.,
aid stations and mobile medical aid stations complete with ambulances and
helicopter, tourist accomodations, food service for both tourists and
paraders, transportation of VIP's and certain parade units, rest areas, lost-
children areas, and adequate toilet facilities A central communications
point will be established and contingency plans prepared for major medical,
traffic and/or weather problems, including program cancellation. The November
15th, Mock Town Meeting confirmed earlier impressions of the LBC concerning
camping and picnic facilities Based on that meeting, LBC has forwarded
seven recommendations to the Selectmen and the Planning Board
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A significant milestone was the formation, in November, of the
Lexington Bicentennial Corporation under the sponsorship of the Chamber
of Commerce This non-profit organization is to raise funds in support
of the many activities planned by the LBC, primarily through the develop-
ment and sales of a series of commemorative medallions Profits will
be used to defray expenses incurred by officially approved activities of
the Lexington Bicentennial program. Additional assistance may evolve
through the state, based on a recent $2,500,000 Bicentennial appropriation;
through the federal government, via a series of matching grants; and through
the military Relative to the latter, the LBC has been instrumental in the
organization of the Joint Military Bicentennial Committee, a group through
which military facilities and resources may be made available to the towns
of Lexington and Concord at no cost The LBC is continually making every
effort to minimize the net expenditure of town funds for the Bicentennial.
The Lexington Bicentennial Committee hopes that the spirit of
Lexington's celebration, as a discovery of our community and of ourselves,
will continue long after the festivities planned for the Bicentennial years