One Hundred Years Ago!
Centennial Celebration of the Settlement
of the Susquehanna Valley at Sidney Plains
Chenango Telegraph, June 19, 1872
An Interesting Event
On the 13th instant one of the most interesting anniversaries which has ever been held in this region, was observed at Sidney Plains [Delaware Co., NY]. It was the centennial celebration of the settlement of the Susquehanna valley in this State. For some time preparations have been making by the people of Sidney Plains to duly honor the event by a celebration, to which should be invited and gathered as far as practicable the descendants of the first settlers, and all who felt an interest in the early history of the valley. Accordingly invitations were sent to all whose addresses were known, in response to which a large attendance was secured, and responses came by letter from many who from the long distance or infirmity could not attend.
Fortunately, the village of Sidney Plains is accessible from every part of the surrounding region by railroads, and the facilities were seized upon by an immense throng of people from the eastern towns of Chenango county, and from all the towns lying on the Susquehanna, in Broome, Delaware and Otsego counties. It was worth the journey to witness the meeting of old friends who had been separated from each other so long that time had left few traces of youth. In many cases the name would readily come back, but it required moments of scrutiny to detect the lineaments once familiar. There were several such meetings and greetings, and with most of them it was also in all probability the last.
The arrangements for the celebration were in charge of a committee of whom Hon. Ira Sherman was chairman, to whom we desire to acknowledge our indebtedness for various courtesies.
As soon as all the trains had arrived, a procession was formed and preceded by the Oxford Band, marched to a beautiful spot on the banks of the Susquehanna, a few rods west of the village. Here two large tents were erected, one for the exercises of the day and the other for the dinner. Back of the platform provided for the officers, speakers and guests, appeared the words in large letters of evergreen--
"ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO'
GOD OUR TRUST."
The tent was immediately filled, and large crowds were still outside. After calling to order, Mr. Sherman expressed the pleasure felt by the people of Sidney Plains in welcoming to their village and the pleasure felt by the people of Sidney Plains in welcoming to their village and its hospitalities so many of the former residents of the place and their descendants. He said this centennial had been for some time talked of in a quiet way, but the more it was considered the more it grew upon their hands, and now they welcomed all present and hoped the enjoyment they expected would be realized.
The response to the brief address of Mr. Sherman was made by Rev. M.E. Dunham, of Whitestown, N.Y., who spoke as follows:
Gentlemen of the Committee and Citizens of Sidney Plains: In response to your kind invitation, we are gathered here today from the North and the South, the East and the West, to greet you on this festival occasion. We feel to congratulate you on the auspicious circumstances which surround you. The heavens, which have been frowning with gathered clouds and bountiful showers, have cleared away, and the sun shines as brightly as if the spirits of our departed ancestors were smiling upon us. We come to do honor to the memory of the men who planted here the standard of civilization. It is well to remember the past. I think if there be anything which characterizes the America people, it is an intense interest in the present. Absorbed with our merchandise, our farming, our mechanical pursuits, we find little time for reminiscences, and the past has no place in our thoughts. But we are here today to recall a hundred years ago, and, I fancy, there are more here than we can see with our mortal eyes. the veil is so thin which separates the living from the dead--the seen from the unseen--that we may well believe there are eyes looking in upon us from which the light of mortality has gone out forever, and hearts beating in sympathy with us, whose pulses are too delicate for our dull materiality to recognize. They have lived and labored for our good, and have passed on before to the land unseen. Let us follow their example and live and labor so that others, coming after us, may be benefitted by what we have done. We are but part of the great army and who are marching through the active duties of life. Soon our places will be vacant. We shall leave the ledger unbalanced on the counter, the hammer idle on the anvil, and the plough still in the furrow. others will fill our places, occupy our seats by the fireside, and stretch themselves upon our couches. let us give them reason to bless God that we have lived and labored for their good.
We congratulate you on the evidences of material prosperity which we see around us. The spirit of the age has caught you--or you have caught it--and are marching nobly on in the great enterprises of the day. We hope your village will spread over these plains, and your citizens be numbered by thousands, where there are now hundreds. But most, we congratulate you upon the success of the occasion. There is something besides gold and silver worthy our attention. We are members of one family, and should cultivate the bonds of brotherhood. Nothing is better calculated to promote brotherhood than scenes like this, and so we come together to join hands with you and unite our hands anew. With joyous hearts we accept your generous welcome, and enter heartily into this celebration of a century ended. Together let us bring to mind a hundred years ago.
To be continued
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