80,000 View Nashua's Bicentennial Parade. From the front page of the Nashua Telegraph, 14 June 1976.
Flag-snapping breezes kept the colors flying and fanned a crowd estimated at 80,000 as Nashua capped its American Revolution Bicentennial Weekend with a once-in-200 years parade.
Yesterday's parade had been expected to last four hours but Roland Caron, parade chairman, said tight formations and a sustained pace cut down the marching time to 2.5 hours.
"Everything went smoothly, we had few problems." said Caron of the efforts of about 200 volunteers to put the parade on the street.
"The whole thing was wonderful." said Patricia Raymond, co-chairman of the Nashua Bicentennial Committee. "I am happy everything went so well."
Pealing church bells at 1 signaled the start of the parade for the masses of spectators which lined the route from Holman Stadium to Simoneau Plaza.
First to roll down Library Hill was a horse-drawn Concord Coach, borrowed for the occasion from East Andover, N.H.
Riding atop the coach was Gov. Meldrim Thomson, attired in the blue and white with red trim colonial costume he appeared in at the 11 am dedication of Bicentennial Park. Seated next to him was Richard Bruen, chairman of the city's Park-Recreation Commission and a member of the Nashua Bicentennial Committee. Seated inside the coach were other members of the local Bicentennial Committee.
Thomson disembarked from the coach at City Hall from which he was whisked to another engagement in the state.
The parade contained all the hoopla loved by crowds, band music, flapping flags, strutting marchers, and colorful floats.
Smothered in pink and white satin and plumage was the Ferko String Band of Philadelphia. Those who remembered the band's appearance in the city's 1953 Centennial parade were somewhat disappointed by the small band which showed yesterday.
But parade workers noted the band marched in tight formation, reducing its impact, and part of its contingent had to remain in the Philadelphia area for a parade commitment there.
A no-show was the eagerly awaited U.S. Air Force Band from the Wright-Patterson Base, Dayton, Ohio. Caron said an aircraft problem in Omaha grounded the band and prevented its appearance in Nashua.
Mayor Dennis J. Sullivan and U.S. Rep. James C. Cleveland, coincidentally celebrating twin birthdays, rode the parade route by car and then watched part of the festivities from City Hall reviewing stand with the members of the Nashua Bicentennial Committee and their families.
Among the largest and most professionally done floats was the tootin' Yankee Doodle Dandy steamboat entered by Ingersoll-Rand and the Sanders Associates effort. which was the last unit in the parade, and which featured global communications and tableaux from American history.
The Actor-Singers rode by in the airiest float, and elegant trellised park scene done in pleasing pastel tones.
Rowing their way were Nashua Rotarians in a giant reproduction of Washington crossing the Delaware.
The Border City Squares, square danced their way and the National Association of the Physically Handicapped pointed to affirmative action as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the employment of the handicapped.
Capturing the imagination of the crowd was the Betsy Toss float, done in giant whimsy fashion by the YMCA.
The YWCA's float, on the other hand, pointed up a theme for women in a "You've come a long way, baby!" float showing scenes from the days when women entered the work force as sedate typists.
Several elaborately done religious floats highlighted the nation's legacy of religious freedom.
Youngsters were prominently featured on numerous floats and marchers included children's units with some pint-sized paraders sometimes giving ample signs of fatigue as they kept pace with the adult units.
The weather proved just right for a parade. A stiff breeze flapped flags and temperatures in the 70's kept the crowds in relative comfort.
Spectators drew the praise of the Nashua police department for their orderly behavior and their attention to instructions given prior to the parade.
"Everything went smoothly during the entire weekend, including the parade," commented Deputy Police Chief Robert Belanger. "I guess the people did read the instructions we had published before the parade and many walked instead of drove to the parade. Within 25 minutes of the parade the crowd had melted away and there were no traffic tangles to speak of. Greeley Park was busy with the weekend encampment and muster but we had few problems there."
Belanger said parade crowd count was difficult to pin down because so many people watched from windows and rooftops along Main Street. Conservative estimates peg the spectators at 50,000 and high estimates range from 80,000 to 100,000. Red Cross units treated 22 persons, mostly for minor lacerations or heat prostration. The most serious case appeared to be a woman suffering from pregnancy complications. She was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital.
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Thomson Leads Dedication Of Monument And Park. From the front page of the Nashua Telegraph, 14 June 1976. (See photo at top of page)
A new name and two monuments grace the little riverside park on Main Street which for years has been known simply as the Main Street Bridged Park for want of a better name.
The park was officially named Bicentennial Park in colorful ceremonies yesterday and it received a new focal point in the form of a granite monument honoring the American Revolution Bicentennial and the soldiers who fought in the war.
Gov. Meldrim Thomson Jr. impressively attired in a colonial costume of blue and white, with red trim, was the featured speaker and assisted in unveiling the Bicentennial memorial.
He centered his talk on the meaning and importance of the American Revolutionary War and the sacrifices the founding fathers were called upon to make.
And, in an aside to critical comments made about the Nashua Telegraph in welcoming remarks by Mayor Dennis J. Sullivan, the governor upheld "a free press" as a necessity for preserving liberty.
Members of the Nashua American Revolution Committee added to the atmosphere by their festive colonial attire.
The Bicentennial monument, cut to the outlines of the state of New Hampshire, was a Bicentennial year project of the Nashua Rotary Club, working with the Nashua American Revolution Bicentennial Committee. Funding for the park beautification and the monuments was shared by the Rotary Club, the New Hampshire American Revolution Bicentennial Commission and the city.
Unveiling the small monument naming the small green space on the east side of Main Street as Bicentennial Park were Richard Bruen, chairman of the Park-Recreation Commission and a member of the Nashua Bicentennial Committee. Parks Supt. Edwin Schroeder, and Wilmur K. Murray, co-chairman of the Nashua Bicentennial Committee and former chairman of the P-R commission.
Inscribed on this ground level marker are the words, "Bicentennial Park, Created by the Parks-Recreation Department, City of Nashua, Honoring our Nation's 200th anniversary 1776-1976."
The Bicentennial monument, which rests on a large base next to the Main Street sidewalk, carries the motto, "Live Free or Die" at the top of the state's outline.
A seal depicting the "Spirit of '76" encircled with "American Revolution Bicentennial 1776-1976" is cut into the motto.
At the base is the inscription "In honor of the First New Hampshire Regiment whose men fought so gallantly under the able leadership of General John Stark and especially to those who gave their lives during the American Revolution so that we may live in freedom. We pledge to preserve these basic rights."
On the back of the monument, a bronze plaque carries the date of the memorials dedication and the seal of Rotary International and the Bicentennial logo adopted for Nashua by the city's Bicentennial Committee.
In the opening ceremony, Mayor Sullivan noted that as "the Gate City of New Hampshire, we are in the habit of being hospitable. Back in 1928, former Mayor William F. Sullivan, on the occasion of Nashua's 75th anniversary, proclaimed Nashua a good city. He then voiced the hope that we would maintain our traditional friendly feeling in the future. Now,48 years later, I believe we still qualify as a good city, and that this Bicentennial affords us the opportunity to recognize those who provided us with such a good start. One must admire their courage and accomplishments when one considers their utter lack of facilities."
He then proceeded to critical comments about the Telegraph and alluded to the days when the small park was referred by the locals as "Bay Rum Park."
The derogatory appellation stems from prohibition days when elderly men hung out in the park, drinking the then popular Bay Rum after shave lotion for its alcoholic content.
"If the park could speak for itself, it would portray a rather turbulent history, being adjacent to a bridge that is steeped in controversy and which was once known as the widest bridge for its length in the world." Sullivan commented. He continued. "Also, being located across the street from the Telegraph Building may have been one of the reasons why some of the frequenters resorted to the use of Bay Rum. I believe the governor might agree their by-product does not always make for enjoyable reading."
"This park, for its limited size, is now serving us in a most useful fashion. Twenty-seven feet below us there is a seven-foot diameter interceptor sewer line attached to a access structure which can be entered by a trap door which permits periodic cleaning of a depressed syphon, which carries sewage from the north end under the Nashua River, roughly 40 feet below us, and moves it on down o our treatment plant located near the Country Club. Up to a year ago, all that pollution was dumping into the river."
"This picturesque monument is an appropriate indication that in Nashua we somehow get things done. It has been my pleasure to work with the Nashua Rotary Club on several occasions, and I find they always follow through on any project they undertake, not to take any credit away from our versatile bicentennial Committee and our Park-Recreation Department. My congratulations on making your deadline. This is a creditable memento to leave behind to mark this auspicious occasion, and I thank everyone involved for their efforts.”
Gov. Thomson noted the city did itself proud in paying tribute to the founding fathers and he praised the Rotary Club for its part in developing the bicentennial monument which he felt sure would be an enduring reminder of the sacrifices the founding fathers were called upon to make and what it was they were trying to achieve through the American Revolutionary War.
"They were fighting for the right to determine their own lives as free men and free women." Thomson said in part "And friends, as you who live in Nashua pass this monument by in future days and look upon it, try to bear in mind that liberty is a fragile thing, like the light of a candle it can be snuffed out quickly and completely. Our liberty can be kept untarnished for all of us if we can pass to our children the ideals of those founding fathers and instill in them a desire to participate in government so that they keep government free."
"Just as an aside, I would say that , a part of keeping the government free, as I'm sure the mayor knows, is to have a free press and while he referred to Bay Rum, let me tell you, that rum played an essential part in the victory of the Revolutionary War because it was the speaker of the House of Representatives John Langdon who in July of '77 pledged his silver, pledged his currency totaling $6,000 and 70 hogsheads of Tobago rum to the cause of the Revolution."
"They gave everything that they possessed in those days in order that we might be free." Thomson continued "And when they passed the very first constitution ever drafted in the United States, adopted here in New Hampshire on Jan. 5th, I would point out that there was a press in Portsmouth, much as there is now, that was strong in its statement, in its editorial policy, and they were very much opposed to that constitution."
"Some of the legislators thought to silence them and fortunately that idea did not prevail."
"Whether it be the newspaper across the street, or any other newspaper, one of the essential virtues of liberty is a free press."
"And so, let them lay on to their public officials, that it's important that you get the facts -- and I underscore that, the facts -- and let them have their editorial opinions."
"That's their prerogative and that's a part of freedom and I hope it will continue to be so throughout our nation for that is one of those very important things for which the founding fathers were fighting for ."
In her comments, Marvis Mellen, representing the local state bicentennial committees, thanked the Rotary Club for undertaking the bicentennial monument project. She noted the efforts of J. Herman Pouliot, Telegraph publisher, who as project chairman designed the monument and furnished the wording for the monument inscriptions.
Richard Spaulding, Rotary Club president, listed items inserted into a memorabilia box inserted into the monument base, including a letter from President Gerald Ford. He joined Thomson, Frank and Marvis Mellen in unveiling the monument. After the placement of a wreath, a detachment from the First New Hampshire Regiment, under the command of Capt. Ray Atkinson. brought ceremonies to an end with a volley of muskets.
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