1932: The Year Newtown Went All Out For George Washington

By Jan Howard

In 1932, in thousands of towns and cities all over the nation, parades and celebrations commemorated the 200th anniversary of the birth of the first president of the United States.

In Newtown, the George Washington Bicentennial Parade was held on Friday, July 1, 1932 with bands, drum and bugle corps, floats, marchers and decorated cars, representing schools, churches, manufacturers, clubs, and civic, fraternal and patriotic organizations.

In its July 8 issue, The Newtown Bee reported the weather was ideal for “a notably successful event.” With an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 onlookers, The Bee declared the celebration “a success from start to finish.” “Sandy Hook state road and Newtown Street were lined with automobiles from Lovell’s Garage to where the parade turned to enter the private grounds of Honorary W.T. Cole” (on Castle Hill), The Bee reported.

Planning for the event had been going on for several months.

The program of bicentennial events began in the morning of July 1 with the parade, which formed in Sandy Hook center. At 10 am, the parade stepped off via Queen Street to the foot of Newtown’s main street, then past the reviewing stand at Edmond Town Hall to the castle grounds where ceremonies began at 11:30 am.

At the front of the parade, George Washington, in the person of John Hampton, rode a white horse and was escorted by three aides. Legionaries portrayed the “Spirit of ’76.”

One of the notable entries in the parade was a float by the lumber company E.C. Platt, which won first place for its replica of Mount Vernon, complete with two of Mr Platt’s grandchildren as George and Martha Washington.

In his invocation during the ceremony on the castle grounds, the Rev William J. Collins, pastor of St Rose, said President Washington “would urge on us the practice of the principles that guided his life.” He pointed out the beliefs the young George Washington had listed in a tattered notebook – consideration for others, simplicity, modesty, truthfulness, undaunted courage, common sense, capacity for friendship, the spirit of tolerance and a profound Christian understanding of the providence of God. “Today when we honor him and when our beloved country is in the throes of a great financial upheaval, causing untold suffering to thousands of our fellowmen, we know that the knowledge and the practice of these same principles can save us.”

A flag drill by 100 school children, directed by their teacher, Miss Ellen E. Welles of Hartford, was “a pretty event,” the paper reported.

 Musical selections included America, Swanee River, Semper Fideles and Stars and Stripes by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) band of Bridgeport. The exercises closed with the Star Spangled Banner.

Allison P. Smith, chairman of the local George Washington Bicentennial Committee, made the introductory remarks, noting that out of the celebration “is bound to come a deeper love for country and a more intelligent knowledge of the noble qualities of the immortal Washington.” He also paid tribute to the residents who planned the festivities.

Lt Governor Samuel Reid Spencer, chairman of the State Bicentennial Committee, presented greetings from the state, noting that “Connecticut was one of the states Washington knew he could depend on unfailingly in times of stress.”

The Rev Oscar E. Maurer, pastor of Center Congregational Church, New Haven, and chaplain of the Second Company, Governor’s Foot Guard, presented an address about Washington and Rochambeau.

The Rev Richmond H. Gesner, pastor of Trinity Episcopal, offered the benediction.

Afternoon festivities in Edmond Town Hall auditorium included a historical play, Newtown in Washington’s time, Oct. 1776 Until Oct. 1781, adapted by Miss Welles and featuring over 100 children in the cast. Miss Welles also planned the costumes and selected the music and dances. The play included a tableau of Martha and George Washington, posed by Albert Knapp and Dorothy Honan.

Later in the afternoon, there was a movie about Alexander Hamilton, and historical pictures depicting the life of George Washington and colonial days that continued until 10 pm.

The bicentennial celebration was climaxed by a colonial ball in Edmond Town Hall gymnasium, under the direction of Mrs George B. Beers. The walls were decorated with flags and “the place presented a beautiful appearance,” The Bee noted.

Charles Coles’ Orchestra of Bridgeport played for modern and old-fashioned dances until midnight. A grand march highlighted the program, led by Mrs Kurtz P. Wilson, Jr, and Edward Davis, who was in costume as Rochambeau.

In addition to Mr Smith, the following residents served on the bicentennial executive committee: Joseph H.A. Symonds, secretary, William B. Bentley, treasurer, Selectman Stanley J. Blackman, Richard J. Carmody, Mrs Hervey W. Wheeler, Mrs George B. Beers, and Mrs Milton Hull. Members of committees included Mrs William B. Bentley, Mrs Robert Camp, Arthur J. Smith, Mrs George B. Beers, Paul S. Smith, Morris D. Beers, and Miss Kate Reynolds, among others.

The planning for a nationwide celebration of the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth began in 1930 with the formation of the United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission.

The US commission selected Houdon’s bust of George Washington as the official picture for the 1932 celebration. Stamps with 12 different poses of the nation’s first president and a George Washington quarter were issued during 1932. The quarter was the first coin of regular issue ever to bear the image of the first president authorized by a special act of Congress.

The national celebration also included Bicentennial Flower Garden and tree planting campaigns.

Pamphlets about the life and times of the first president were authorized under the direction of the national commission. Throughout 1931 and 1932 these articles appeared in The Newtown Bee. They covered facts about President Washington and other people of the Revolutionary period, including Thomas Paine, writer of Common Sense, and Robert Morris, who financed the Revolution.

The US commission also brought forward items of interest, such as the suggestion that George Washington had invented ice cream, 30 years before Dolly Madison was supposed to have prepared it for the first time. It pointed, for proof, to an entry in his cash memorandum book in May 1784 of a purchase of a “cream machine for ice.”

Planning for the local bicentennial event had begun in December of 1931 when the Newtown Chamber of Commerce voted to sponsor the celebration. A committee was appointed, consisting of Mr Smith, W.F. Scott, Mr Symonds, Judge Edward Hampton, Hobart G. Warner, W.A. Upham, and Dr W.F. Desmond, to meet with the selectmen and to begin planning the celebration.

On February 5, 1932, The Newtown Bee reported on the committee’s first meeting. Mrs F.H. Mitchell, Mrs George B. Beers and Dr Desmond were appointed to contact Lt Governor Spencer, chairman of the State Bicentennial Committee, about state plans for participating in any area celebrations.

Other Events

There were other local events commemorating the birth of George Washington. On February 26, a celebration at Trinity Church was held under the auspices of the Young People’s Fellowship, that The Bee termed a “fitting inaugural of the celebration of the bicentennial.” The morning service was devoted to a remembrance of the religious life of George Washington. His diary, the story noted, offers ample evidence that he was a sincere and loyal churchman.

At the April 1932 meeting of the local committee, a letter of thanks and appreciation to the Newtown Chamber of Commerce for initiating the celebration was forwarded to the secretary of the Chamber, Mr Bentley.

Social events, such as an April 27 bridge and tea and a June 7 musical and bridge, helped raise funds for the July 1 celebration.

On May 6, The Newtown Bee reported that enthusiasm for the upcoming patriotic event was “rapidly growing,” adding that the bicentennial event, weather permitting,  “promises to be one of the greatest events of its kind in the history of the town.” The weather proved to be very permitting.