1989 Bristol fourth of July Report

1989 Two Hundred thirteenth Anniversary of American Independence

The B.T.A.

The Colorful Colonial uniforms and fife and drum corps are special! It’s a real throwback to Colonial times, and the Bristol Train of Artillery certainly fits right in with the image.

Raymond A. Thomas, 66, has lived for the B.T.A., ever since he first enlisted as a Private in 1951. Now, a retired Brigadier General, Thomas realizes the impact his unit has made on Bristol’s Fourth of July Parade.

‘To my knowledge, we’ve never missed a Fourth of July Parade,’ he noted.[1] ‘Each year, we lead the Fourth [Centennial Legion] Division, and its been quite an honor,’ said Thomas.

Thomas, and his late brother, Col. Oswald A. Thomas, was recognized as the backbone of the B.T.A. for many years.

Excluding education and religious institutions, the B.T.A. is the oldest organization in Bristol. It has maintained and sustained an uninterrupted existence continuance from the date of its establishment on February 12, 1776.

A citizens' Committee to plan the (Fourth of July) observance usually consisted of about five or six men, and always included the commanding officer of the B.T.A.
 

1887 and the B.T.A.: The Bristol Train of Artillery was not in the parade of 1887. They were invited to Providence to take part in the unveiling of the Burnside memorial statue.

Manny Correira: Providence Journal Bulletin, Thursday, June 29, 1989.

 Turf Wars
By noon Monday many residents along High and Hope Streets had staked off sidewalks in front of their homes and were making last-minute preparations for the celebration.

The grassy shoulders lining the parade route had been almost entirely “reserved;” reserved with chairs, blankets, and ropes on stakes that marked the boundaries so nearby homeowner’s friends and relatives could have a curbside seat.

Elmer McNamara of Hope Street was busy driving stakes a foot or more into the ground in front of his home. He explained; “People come into town the night before, rev their engines, yelling and breaking things.” He recalled one “night before” at 2:30 a.m., he heard noises outside, and when he checked he saw someone moving his stakes and setting up their own chairs. They said he had no right to reserve the spot, because it was state land.

Highlights of The Celebration

Because it is Bristol, the Fourth of July Parade stepped off as scheduled at precisely 10:30 a.m. Overcast skies simply kept the thousands of marchers and watchers cooler without raining on them.

Continuing the recent trend for innovation in respect to the selection of the Chief Marshal; Chairman Vorro chose as his lead personality for the parade, not one, but two people; Robert and Marie Rondeau, acted as Co-Chief Marshals.

Co-Chief Marshals Robert and Marie Rondeau requested that Bristolians revive the old time tradition of house illumination and decoration. “What we’re hoping to do this year is to revitalize an old Bristol tradition, which they used to do here more than 100 years ago, that is light up the entire town. We’d like to have as many lights turned on the night before the Fourth as possible, not only along the parade route, but also throughout the whole town. We want everyone to get into the true Fourth of July spirit.

Furthermore, the Rondeaus helped put into motion plans to conduct a house decorating contest, similar to the one held in town for the past three years at Christmas. Special prizes were awarded for the most patriotic and most original house decorations.

David and Candice Lawrence of 245 High Street won the first ever Patriotic House Decorating Contest.

 First Fourth Postal Cancellation 
A special postal cancellation was available for collectors at the Bristol Post Office on July Fourth. A special cancel design was devised by the Committee and made into a hand stamp-cancel by the United States Postal Service. The design was a representation of the Fourth of July Committee’s logo the flag of Rhode Island and the national flag with crossed staffs, centered on a Colonial drum. After the stamp-canceling device had completed its period of use, it was supposed to have been encased in plastic and added to the collection of Fourth of July artifacts at the Bristol Historical and Preservation Society.

 Accidents and Arrests 
Although alcohol has now been banned from Bristol streets on the Fourth for three years; the town hosted and the people toasted, keeping the police busy during the long holiday weekend. One report on the police blotter said 40 cases and 12 kegs of beer were confiscated from underage revelers.

Overall, the holiday was relatively quite; there were no major incidents during the parade or on the night before, according to Bristol Police Lieutenant Russell S. Serpa. There were about a dozen arrests of people who were drunk and/or disorderly, he said. Also several local people for whom the police had warrants were spotted in the crowd and were arrested. Serpa said about 108 police were on duty, compared to the 19 who were on duty in 1972, when a riot broke out. This year police from Cranston and Warwick reinforced Bristol Police.

The Rescue Squad answered about 50 emergency calls during the celebration. The only serious celebration-related injury reported was burns to a person accidentally pushed into the bonfire Monday night.

 Silly String 
Town Administrator Halsey C. Herreshoff addressed the Town Council about some complaints he had received concerning, “A silly fluorescent substance shot from an aerosol can”. Herreshoff said, “...objections to the material range from safety, damage [to clothing], aesthetics and damage to the atmosphere by fluorocarbons.”

James W. Farley, Jr., said all vendors were told not to sell the stuff, but some had already stocked the item. “We had some on the floats.” Farley continued, “People riding on the floats were shooting it at the crowd.” The Council agreed to draft an ordinance that would ban the sale and use of silly string.