Wilmington News-Journal from Wilmington, Ohio • 38

AMERICAN EREEOOM TRAIN Americans across the country are collection of Americana Paul Revere's Ride'S Nation's in the mood for big celebration Listen my children and' you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere On the eighteenth of April in Seventy five: Hardly a man is now alive tipped over gradually then plunged headlong toward the pool below It was nearly 10 seconds to onlookers it seemed like an eternity before the barrel reappeared in the spray Then the cask came into full Bicentennial year exhibits by many artists feature patriotic motifs and Revolutionary scenes Many museums have scheduled special Bicentennial exhibits featuring American works or historical themes The Smithsonian Institution has even planned a performance' of music and dance from the time of Thomas Jef ferson as part of Bicentennial ob servances The fashion world has also gotten into the spirit of '76 with patriotic looks that as diamond studded patriotic jewelry The nation's press has caught the revolutionary spirit as well with newspapers and magazines featuring old fashioned type in special Bicen tennial editions or even Revolutionary events as though they had just happened Major orchestras throughout the country will be performing new works celebrating the Bicentennial and no i less a poet than Archibald MacLeish has written a Bicentennial com memorative poem Whether a symphonic program or an old fashioned picnic the way Americans will be celebrating the Bicentennial is sure to be as diversified and spirited as America itself By 1830 oranges were fairly common in the gardens of lorida and some other temperate states William Wolfskill a trapper took a wagon fuU ot young orange trees overland from the East to California in 1831 ridiculed by his neighbors and had tostruggle to establish a productive grove Eventually he had 70 acres established Wolfskill sold part of his last crop 28 acres worth on the trees for $25000 By 1877 the tran scontinental railroad had made remarkable changes in the food system of the United States In that year the first carload of oranges was shipped from Wolfskill Orchards near Los Angeles to St Louis The much teased trapper had made his point In lorida where oranges' were first introduced in what is now the United States in the 16th century commercialexpansion came in the late 1870's The popularity of the fruit was avowed by the importation of about 200 million oranges annually to the eastern United Stales in the years 1874 to 1877 The groves planted tn north central lorida to supply the demand for oranges were severely affected by the big freeze of 1894 95 A to the south soon established the fast growing industry on a commercial scale by the turn of the century down to the far end of the island while I get "Mrs Taylor slipped on the which by the way extended well below the knees and then climbed into the barrel before calling for the men to return They padded her on all sides with view amid cries and shouts from along pillows tightened up her harness and pumped into her temporary air supply "enough gas to last her for a She was then set adrift Since the rivermen the currents the barrel was at least in the right channel as it moved swiftly downstream toward the brink Because of the 100 pound anvil in its bottom her cask floated in an upright position At the crest of the cataract the barrel In failing health and almost penniless the winter of 1921 Mrs Taylor entered the Niagara County Infirmary at Lockport as a public charge About two months later she died The county paid for the burial expenses in Oak wood Cemetery Niagara alls NY The monument stands as a silent reminder to those countless voie that rejected Annie Edn Tajlor on the bright October daymliSol: "irst to Go Over the HorsejKoS allk in a Barrel and Mrs Taylor was' determined that a woman could do it too! cancel her plans for the day was the immediate target of more barbs from the spectators convinced more than ever that she was taking them for a ride! The next morning the river was in deed calmer And the rivermen were ready to perform their roles! despite the skeptism "If I say I'll do a thing I'll do Mrs Taylor said To one deep rooted disbeliever the school teacher said: "If I gave my word that I'd stand before a cannon when it was being fired do that When the crew arrived at Grass Island above the falls Mrs Taylor instructed her male assistants go JI Although thoroughly soaked heronly classroom' was immeasurably better injuries were slight cuts to the jaw and than the fleeting fame she had found at forehead Obviously she was in a state Niagara oi snocK nut alter a halt hour ot delirium she seemed to regain her senses The of the had achieved the fame she sought from the school teaching days in Michigan ortune was the other half of her dream On several tours of the country she soon discovered the at the foot of the Horseshoe alls was ap parently lost Part of the blame was attributed to'Mrs poor choice of business managers Before long it became a hard fact for Mrs Taylor to face: life in the small Meanwhile impatient to mount and ride Booted and spurred with a heavy stride On the opposite shore a walked Paul Revere Now he palled hs horse's side Now gazed at the landscape far and near Then impetuous stamped the earth And turned and tightened his saddle girth But mostly he watched with eager search The belfry tower of the Old North Church As it rose above the graveson the hill I xinely and spectral and sombre and still Andlo! as he looks on the belfry's height A glimmer and then a gleamof light! He springs to the saddle the bridle hedurns But lingers and gazes till full on his sight A second lamp jn the belfry burns! A hurry of hoofs in a village street A sjiape in the moonlight a bulk in the darkAnd beneath! from the pebbles in passing a spark Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet: That was all! And yet through the gloom and the light The fate of a nation was riding that night And the spark struck out by that steed in his flight Kindled the land into flame with its heat He has left the village and mounted thesteep And beneath him tranquil and broad and deep Is the Mystic meeting the ocean tides And under the alders that skirt' its edge Now soft on the sand now Record numbers of visitors are ex Independence Hall in Philadelphia pected this bicentennial year at where the Liberty Bell is on view Who remembers that famous day and year He said to his friend the British march By land or sea from the town to night Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch Of the North Church tower as a signa One if by land and two if by sea And I on the opposite shore will be Ready to ride and spread ihe alarm Through every Middlesex village and farm or the country folk to be un and to arm Then he said and with muffled oar Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore Meanwhile his friend through alley and street Wanders and watches with eager ears Till in the silence around him he hears The muster of men at the barrack door The soun'd of arms and the tramp of feet And the measured tread of the grenadiers Marching down to their boats on the shore Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church By the wooden stairs with stealthy tread To the belfry chamber overhead And startled the pigeons from their perch On the sombre rafters that round him made Masses and moving shapes of shade By the trembling ladder steep and tall To the highest window in the wall Where he paused to listen and look down A moment on the roofs of the town And the moonlight flowing overall 6 Wilminqton News Journal Thursday January 29 1976 I Atjjjjjcmjoczf rcryjczj nfoi vvuiiiaii uvut uuo NIAGARA ALLS Ont Annie Edson Taylor the refined 43 ycar old Bay City Mich school teacher had heard all that boasting by a Bowery tavern proprietor who claimed he went over the falls in a padded rubber suit in 1899 But Mrs Taylor was never conyinc'ed that Steve Brodie had made the trip The feat simply was not substantiated tlje lady noted Widowed and nearly penniless Mrs Taylor wanted something more than an inadequate teacher's salary to face the struggling 'years alone iame and fortune would be she thought if a trip over Niagara alls in a barrel proved successful Her reception in the Cataract City on Oct 23 1901 was less than enthusiastic Cynics laughed off the school teacher as crank and a The press of course displayed the usual interest in anyone threatening to challenge the majestic waterfall Newsmen and photographers crowded found the oddly constructed barrel nail at the bottom and bound with uietal hoops which bore the im pressive legend "Queen of the One photographer persisted in this request "Please' Mrs Taylor can we get a picture of you wearing the costume you ve orougnt to maxe tne trip in the Mrs Taylor responded with a slight reprimand for the eager photographer: i "Young man it would be unbecoming a woman of my refinement and my years to parade before a holiday crowd in skirt!" Thousdands of residents along both sides of the border lined the banks for a glimpse of that afternoon of October 23 There was no trace of barrel oming down the river toward the falls Mrs Taylor backed down It was the veteran rivermen hired to tow the barrel into midstream who looked at the choppy waters and decided to renege on their part of the bargain The weeping Mrs Taylor forced to loud on the ledge Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides You know the rest In the books you have How the British Regulars fired and How the farmers gave them ball for ball rom behind each fence and farm yard wall Chasing the red coats doivn the lane Then crossing the fields to emerge again Under the trees at the turn of the road And only pausing to fire and load So through the night rode Paul Revere And so through the night went his cry of alarm To every Middlesex village and A cry of defiance and not of fear A voice in the darkness a knock at the door (nd a word that shall echo forevermore! or born on the night wind of the Past Through all our history to i the last In the hour of darkness and peril and need The people will waken and listen to hear The hutjrying hoof beats of that steed And the mignight message of Paul Revere Wadsworth Longfellow' LDITOR NO 'I The following is ashort feature article on Annie Edson 'Taylor the first and only woman ever to go over Niagara alls tn a barrel She accomplished the feat Oct 24 11101 the nearby banks About 17 minutes later it was stranded on a reef off the Canadian shore Kid Brady a riverman hooked it with a long pole Carlisle Graham helped to saw the top off the heavy oak barrel God he exclaimed after looking inside Annie Edson Taylor was assisted from the barrel her place secure in the endless drama along the Niagara Oranges go overland in 1831 jThe Old North Church scene of historical signal to Paul Revere played ah important role in famous poem about Revolution nocKing io see zoo years oi our nation spiring history brought together in an in aboard the reedom Train March 1975 was decreed as the of ficial opening date for the Bicentennial by Congress and enthusiastic Americans have been getting into the spirit ever' since You don't have to look very far to find evidence Of the fact that people are in the mood for a celebration Everywhere communities have held or plan to hold special events in honorof America's approaching 200th bir thday and individuals are getting into nnl no txroll Possibly the most news worthy event are as plebian as shirts or as elegant nine I hfl uml 1 ni ihli li i rUI of i i i i huj mv nvu JlgUlUlg Ul a lantern in the Old North Church in Boston by President ord com memorating the historic signal to Paul Revere that sped him on his famous ride Not as publicized but just as sym bone ot Americans pride in this heritage is the Bicentennial mural painted by a Reseda California homeowner on his garage door The town of Lexington' un derstandably proud of its history has staged battle pageants memorializing the Battle of Lexington and similar mock battles have been staged at Concord and on Bunker Hill One shopping center recently held a contest for new American flag designs in honor of the Bicentennial and was dchnrori uiih ontricQ mneins from space designs to traditional stars and 5 stripes The first railroad tunnel was built in Artists seem to have become inspired 1831 near Pa by the by our colorful history in this Allegheny Portage Railroad fsfW 5 2 a 7 A A A A A Ik' JJxnvg 1 WkRI MB '4T 1 HL a fli i u' MWj'lww Wn LjaMLj avwwwBMMBi 'i I tcwwc I al i'l ft I iW I Jr ft BS 1 nngiiniWj I i 7 i.