Springfield 1636-1886, History of Town and City, by Mason A. Green ...

SPRINGFIELD, 1636-1886. 563
This anniversary hymn, written by E. Porter Dyer, was then sung
by the Orpheus Club : —
O God of our fathers! Their guide and their shield,
Who marked out their pathway through forest and field,
We stand where they stood and witli anthems of praise,
Acknowledge thy goodness, O Ancient of Days!
Thou leddest thy people of old like a flock;
They trusted in thee as their Sheltering Rock;
The centuries pass — thou art ever the same,
And children of children still trust in thy name.
'Twas here in the wilderness, silent, untamed.
The gospel of freedom and grace they proclaimed,
The gospel of home, of the school, of the plough,—
And this City of Homes is their monument now.
O God of our fathers! By river and wood,
Where Pynchon, and Holyoke, and Chapin abode,
Our heritage blossoms with glory and praise
To thee, their defender, O Ancient of Days!
Judge Knowlton —Fifty years ago Springfield gathered her children about
her as she has done to-day, and told them the story of her life, and taught them
fitting lessons, by the lips of one whom many of us remember, who was for a
long time prominent in the progress of the town, Hon. Oliver B. Morris. The
mantle of history, then so worthily worn, has fallen upon the shoulders of his
eldest son, who from youth to advanced age has never ceased to reflect honor
upon his native town, and in recent times has done more than any other to em-
balm in pure English the memory of her early years. I introduce our historian,
Judge Henry Morris :
—
Judge Morris. — So far as known, there has been but one attempt before this
to celebrate the anniversary of the first settlement of the town of Springfield.
Fifty years ago this day its bi-centennial was observed. It was an occasion of great
interest to this town, and other towns in this vicinity.
—
People flocked here from
far and near. After a long procession through our streets, with a military
escort and music, an address was deUvered in the ancient First Church, fronting
on Court square, and other appropriate services held, including prayer by Rev.
Dr. Osgood, anthems by the choir, under the direction of Col. Solomon Warriner,
and the singing, as a solo, by a lady still residing here, of the hymn of Mrs.