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Lastthere.the City(vvrlufiiin frOlll Wmmw Un“)live gefahitflh plants are sometimes placed about its base, and little Ameficah flags ' are stuckabout.flags Hadtaggledfall flags were placed In the- winter they had fallen; in the spring they were recumbent in the mud. No one came to remove them. And the sentinel .on top looked only one way.One would expect to find an interesting history of the monument in old newspapers of, the period of its erection. One would expect that reports, columns long, would record the glorywords of dedication.The birth of the monument may have been in an atmosphere of such intense patriotism and dedication that the writing of anything at all for the newspapers seemfed redundant—or it* may have been for some other reason.The fact persists that little can be found of the early history of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ monument.A mayor of Biddeford back in 1886, actually many years after the close of the Civil War, made mention in an inaugural address of such a monument.Then in 1887 a brief report is carried in the Journal of that day of the Maine Legislature’s, setting up a Biddeford Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument association.McArthur s* Librarian Dane Yorke, who has searched thoroughly into the matter, found little more than the mention ofthe incorporation. Something was mentioned that previously about $1,200 had been collected for the purpQse but the whereabouts of the cash is left in doubt by a statement that th£ holder of the fund had moved away. Monument Arrives The legislative action was in January, and in August an announcement so brief as to be depressing stated that the monument had arrived here, that some surprise had been expressed because it was in sections and not one piece, and that formal dedication would be on the next. Memorial Day.The monument was of zinc, was of a model which had already been erected in Salem,Mass., *hd apparently was a sert of '“stock model” with changes made only in some of .the letteredpanels as it was Installed in thisor that city.: . . . ,Yorke ettfhmgrita that ftom other studies ih the'1887 period, he had found that it was a time when monuments of various sorts were being sold ail over the county. Apparently the local project was in some part a prod-duct of the waves of patriotic dedication which was sweeping about, aided to a degree by the salesmen for the monument makers.Diligent sehfch of the papers for the year following the announced erection failed to show any formal dedication ceremonies. The next Memorial Day was thoroughly observed here, and columns were filled with flowerylanguage of speakers, but of the monument, its onlv mention was that the parade “circled about the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ monu- s ment.”Someone might, have taken time out to get a few words intor»rint of thoughts of the times on the establishment of what is now a revered landmark.AH leading citizens were mentioned- as in action on the drive at the time of incorporation of the association.. And the cost of the monument was stated as $2,500. Just what worth that many dollars had in the labors of the times is not certain, but some inference may be drawn from an advertisement in the same newspaper which offered for sale a livery stable, farm and “much land” at Bar Mills, all for $400 cash.This story could report just what is inscribed on . the sides of the monument but that might deaden the curiosity of the reader, who will soon be driven to go to the memorial and look it ‘ over closely.Once that curiosity bug bites, he will drive his victim to go and look. That’s how this’ story happened to be written.i' «HOSPITAL PROBLEM'CENTRAL FALLS,. R. I. lt;/P)—Notre Dame hospital authorities have a problem: Susan AgnesMerow was born “on the stroke of midnight. Saturday.. They can’t decide whether to list her. birth on June 23 or June 24.ATTENTION SALESMEN# #Consider well the advantages of working for your local FORD DEALER. Salary and insurance benefit9 4included.MR. THORNTONMR. NAPPIBiddeFord Motor Sales, Inc.
Newspaper Details
Biddeford Journal
Biddeford, Maine, US
Mon, Jun 25, 1956
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Mcarthur L.
ME, USA 06 Jul 2018
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