A Fourth of July to Remember

If you want to know what Vanceboro looked and felt like during its heyday, imagine spending the Fourth of July here in 1927.

Reported as a special to the Bangor Daily News a few days after the big event, this account portrays a prosperous village with an excellent school, businesses, electric light plant, sporting camps, a thriving international rail gateway and a soon-to-be-built international highway bridge—all signs that, in 1927, the future seemed bright.

The festivities began with a parade and continued with races, water sports on the St. Croix, baseball games, a church lunch and supper, a band concert, fireworks, and dancing that lasted into the early morning. Particularly striking is the evening community sing, when patriotic and hometown songs were projected onto a screen outside the school so that everyone could sing together, punctuated by films supplied by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The celebration was shaped by Vanceboro’s unique position as a border town, with close ties to neighboring McAdam and the railroad that connected them.

For those of us looking back nearly a century later, this is more than a record of a holiday. It is a reminder of what Vanceboro once was and of the energy, generosity, and cross-border neighborliness that still defines community life here.

GREAT FOURTH AT VANCEBORO

Lively Border Town Celebrates in Style, Making Thousands Happy.

(Special to The Bangor Daily News.)

VANCEBORO, July 6—What no doubt was Vanceboro’s best celebration of Independence Day in years was staged here when a program filled to overflowing was carried out with almost clock-like precision.

From the grand opening of the celebration in the early morning, to the strains of the last waltz in the hall house of the following morning, there was a variety of attractions and feature events, the like of which many a larger town or city would have been proud to present so successfully. While rain threatened to mar the plans and hopes of all for the day, none fell, however, until late afternoon, and the day otherwise was an ideal one, although perhaps one of the coldest days on record for a July 4th.

Promptly on schedule time, the parade headed by the Vanceboro Band, with J. A. Fletcher in charge of the callithumpians, was started, followed by floats, decorated cars, fire apparatus, etc., proceeded through the principal streets to the ball field, where men’s, boys’ and girls’ foot races, the marathon, potato, wheelbarrow and sack races were held, with the winners carrying off substantial cash prizes. The band then led the way to the water sports, greased pole and tub races held near the International railway bridge, the laugh-producing feature in these sports being the numerous attempts of the boys and men to reach the flag at the end of the greased pole.

No sooner were these attractions over when crowds rushed to the dining hall in the basement of the Methodist church to be the first to partake of the delicious salmon dinner served by the members of the church. Immediately after dinner the band again brought the crowds back to the ball diamond, where two of the best ball games witnessed in this section for some time were played, the first game between Vanceboro and Danforth being captured in the 9th inning by Vanceboro when P. Blanchard, catcher, in his last chance in the game, with three on bases, sent a liner into left field that wasn’t recovered and brought in the necessary two runs to break Danforth’s lead which they held from the beginning of the game, the final score being 6 to 5. The second game, Vanceboro vs. McAdam Mexicans, went to McAdam, with a score of 12 to 3.

The ball games over, stomachs again called for another visit to the scene of the salmon dinner, and at 5 o’clock a splendid supper of baked beans, brown bread, salads and cakes was served.

At 6.15 the Vanceboro band gave one of its concerts before Armstrong’s picture hall, after which a feature picture with news reel was shown. After the show, everyone had a pleasant surprise, a feature not previously announced on the program, and one which it seems contributed more than any other to the real success of the celebration; one which brought old and young alike into concerted expression of joy. On the outside of the Vanceboro School building had been attached a large movie screen, and in the centre of the field surrounding was erected a platform upon which was room for an electrically-operated projection machine, a piano and seats for singers. Many present expected only a showing of moving pictures, but were agreeably surprised to see flashed upon the screen the words of their own patriotic and home songs, the first being America, with the request that all join in. The request was promptly met, and from then on nothing but music and song filled the air.

At intervals, moving pictures were shown depicting the Life of Wild Animals of New Brunswick and Canada and A Trip Across the Continent via Canadian Pacific Railway, with other interesting subjects. This feature of Vanceboro’s celebration was made possible through the courtesy of Canadian Pacific officials and others of McAdam, N.B., prominent among whom are W. J. Pickrell, master mechanic, the owner of the projection apparatus with its thousands of feet of Canadian Pacific produced films; W. Bailey, claims agent; Fred Jones, locomotive foreman, with his daughter, Miss Winifred Jones, as pianist, and Bert Buzzn, director of the singing, to all of whom the committee feels deeply indebted. The officials named also made possible during the day the best feature of the parade which was entirely unlooked for, by sending over No. 2336, a very fine model of the modern Canadian Pacific passenger engines, built upon a Cadillac chassis; also a model of the latest observation car, Mount Stephen, both complete in every detail, and a feature that would certainly draw first honors in many of the big parades of the country.

After the outdoor “sing” and pictures, Rev. G. P. Sparks of the Methodist church delivered a short address, following which came the display of fireworks. Dancing then began in the K. of P. Hall, with music by Casey’s ever better and popular orchestra.

Vanceboro people feel that they have put on a real Fourth of July as promised, as nothing but happy and satisfied crowds of men, women and children were in evidence. Vanceboro is a well-known little town on the border, the terminus of the eastern division of the Maine Central railroad, and is served by two others, the Canadian Pacific and the Canadian National. It is surpassed by only a very few other border ports in volume of business and traffic, and has a large customs collection for the number of men employed than any other in the United States, the collections for the fiscal year 1927 amounting to considerably over a million, with only nine men employed. A large volume of motor traffic passes through Vanceboro to and from the Maritime Provinces, and a new international highway bridge across the St. Croix River about to be constructed, with new roads, will mean much to this community.

Vanceboro has good schools, including a Class A high school, a variety of stores, owns its own electric light plant, and its lakes nearby have some of the finest sporting camps in the state, and fish and game are abundant, and with its many other opportunities afforded make it one of the best little communities on the Canadian border.