Dickens Station Daily Telegraph
Sunday, July 2, 2023 Dickens Station, Vermont
Dickens Station’s First Independence Day
by Emily Dodson, Editor
As we approach Independence Day, I thought it might be fun to look back to see how Dickens Stationers celebrated their first 4th of July as a town. So, I went through the archives and uncovered the following article by Harmon S. Pettigrew, the first editor of the Dickens Station Daily Telegraph, published on July 1, 1894, about the first Independence Day celebration in Dickens Station.
Dickens Station Daily Telegraph
Sunday, July 1, 1894 Dickens Station, Vermont
by Harmon S. Pettigrew, Editor
Being a seasoned reporter by vocation and always looking for a story that might interest my readers, I decided to poke the hornet’s nest and seek out our town’s founder, Merritt Otto Dickens, a recently transplanted Britisher. I intended to catch him with his pants down, as it were, over plans for the upcoming celebration of American independence, July 4th. The British are still not keen on the colonies leaving the empire, you know.
He explained that he had taken the liberty of ordering several special items to make the celebration memorable, including a boatload of fireworks, a display of chocolate from Mr. Hershey’s new factory in Pennsylvania, and several cases of that new taste sensation drink from Georgia called Coca-Cola.
As is his practice, our burgeoning township’s quiet, ever-contemplative founder surprised me by calling upon me first for the same reason. He asked me to write an article inviting the town to join him in all the popular American customs surrounding the holiday, including a parade and a town picnic. He explained that he had taken the liberty of ordering several special items to make the celebration memorable, including a boatload of fireworks, a display of chocolate from Mr. Hershey’s new factory in Pennsylvania, and several cases of that new taste sensation drink from Georgia called Coca-Cola.
After a few inquiries, I discovered that Mrs. Dickens had already encouraged a group of ladies to organize the picnic, and Mr. Dickens had already called upon the fire department to organize the parade.
And so, I am left a humble delivery boy, passing along an invitation to all of you, my readers, friends, and fellow Dickens Stationers, to join Mr. and Mrs. Dickens and their cadre of volunteers in a 4th of July celebration like none our great state of Vermont has ever seen.
It’s always nice to see more layers & textures added to the town’s history with these newspaper articles. Well done, Donald Jay!
Thanks, Ben. I thought you’d like this one.
I love how you bring this town to life!
Thanks, Dianna. I love layering in the details.