From the Archivists
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From the Archivists Falmouth Historical Society Robert H. Bidwell Katharine lee Bates "America The Beautiful" Centennial Celebration July 22 . August 12, 1993 You often hea r the expression: "Never volunteer." Sometimes, however, nice things happen when you do. O ne such occasion occurred recently when I happened to be in the offi ces of cl,e Falmouth Historical Sociely and overhea rd Arnold Dyer mention to Rorence Fitts, the Society's president, mat A ra re photograph of I(..'l. tie as a baby, which appeared in he had received a call fro m Chandler Jones, a former her biography, "Dream and Deed" by her niece Mrs. owner fo r many yea rs of dle Kathari ne Lee Bates George Sargent Burgess. Courtesy the author's heirs. birthplace in Falmouth at 16 Main Street. Mr. Jones advised M r. Dyer that he had several boxes of memorabili a and hooks relating to Katharine Lee historic landmark Inn on rhe stagecoach route from Bates which he would like [0 donate [0 the Society if Boston to Taunton, about 250 years old and at one someone could come up to Sharon. Massachusetts time a famous T ave rn known as Cobb's T avern. Every where he lived and pick them up. room had many items of historic inte rest incl uding the T ap Room itself at one end of rhe house d1at had been W hen M rs. Fins mentioned this call to me, I ca refull y preselVed intact. volunteered to go to Sharon. We had been looking (or memora bilia to d isplay in the front two rooms of d1e Mr. Jones had just celebrated his 90d, birthday (he Miss Bates' birthplace which will be open to the looked much younger!) and on rhe dining room table public during the Centennial celebration this summer lay many cards from schoolchildren who had recendy of me writing of "America d1e Beauti ful. " Mr. Jones toured his home. said that he had heard about the Centennial After showing us a wooden shovel and a large wooden celebration and rhought rhat it would be a good time roUer used at d,e old Falmouth Salt Works and a glass to make the donation. cane made at rhe old Falmouth Glass Factory, Mr. Several days later, on a beautiful, sunny but cold day Jones rook us up the circular pulpit stairs to a in early February, my wife, Connie, and I drove up to bedroom with a vaulted ceiling. There we pulled from Sharon and found Mr. Jones' lovely old home, an a space between two walls two boxes, one containing 24 books and the other memorabilia relating to Katharine Harriet (Hattie) Gifford was a relative of Mr. Jones' Lee Bates which he and hi s late wife, Dorothy, had family on hi s grandmother's side. Hattie and collected over the years. He wenr over the contents Katharine grew up together in Falmouth as close with us and ir wa s like discovering a real treasure friends. Sigurd was Kadlarine's first coll ie dog. chest! Katharine Coman was a close friend of Miss Bates on ule Wellesley College facu lLY. We then loaded th e boxes into our car and bid our mosr gracious hosr adieu with our heartfelt thanks. It • Nineteen books written by ot.her authors, many of was truly an exciting afte rnoon for us and one that we which were given to Harrier L Gifford by shall never forget. Kadlarine Lee Bates and the rest have KLB's bookplate. Here is a partial listing of what the boxes co ntained: Examples of inscriptions to Harriet: • Sixteen books by Katharine Lee Bares, many of which are personally inscri bed to her friend "For an old fashioned girl from the adler Harriet L Gifford by Mi ss Batesj some sa mples: Snowy gi rl" "Harriet L Gifford wi m love from her old "Harriet G ifford with love from her old friend KLB" playmate" <l Harriet from K.1dlarine to play at being "Katharine Lee Bares, who expected to keep child ren again" dlis book herself, has enjoyed it so much that "Harriet L Gifford widl ule life long fr iendship she thinks it may also give pleasure to her dear of KLB" fT iend Harriet L Gifford and so sends it for Christmas greeting 1914" "Harrier L G ifford with constant love fTom KLB" O ne book entitled <l Avon's Harvest" by the noted poet "Inscribed l"O the one Sigurd loved best" Edwin Arlington Robinson had a letter tucked in it (K.1tha rine Coman) from the autl'lOr addressed to Katllarine Lee Bates. Two rare photographs of Katharine Lee Bares from the C handler Jones collection which help lO fi ll lhe picture gap of her younger yeaTS. Tllese picrures probably were originally given by Katharine to her long-time friend, Haltie Gifford. The first shows Katie as a young girl in Falmoum - perhaps about six years old. TIle second shows her as a young lady of high school age when she was about sixteen yeaTS old. Courtesy Falmouth Historical Society. 25 Birthplace of Katharine Lee Bates, 16 Main S lTCCr, Falmouth, juS[ off me Village G reen. Tne First Congregational C hurch rented this ho me in 1858 (or ilS pastor The Rev. William BateS and his family. Her (adler died in 1859 o ne month after Katharine, the youngest of five children, was born. After about two years at 16 Main Street, Mrs. Bates and her child ren moved five times during meir twelve years in Faimomh. The 1870 Census shows them living in the Buder place where the Falmoudl Square Inn now is. Benjamin Franklin Jones purchased this ho me in 1865 and it remained in his family until 1970. Pictured in the buggy is his son, George Washington Jo nes, long-time postmaster of Fal mouth, with his rrol1:ing horse and dog. Approximate dale of picrurc is 1896. In 1970, his son, C handler Jones, sold the ho me to Edward Sherry who in rum sold i( to The Falmouth Historical Society. its present owner. in 1977. Counesy Fal mouth Hi s[Qricai Society. • "America the Beautiful" with nve musical setti ngs contenderj the setting by C larence Hamil to n of by Clarence B. Hamil ton, Will iam Anns Fi sher, Wellesley's music department was probably secretly John Carroll Randolph, William W. Sleeper and preferred by Miss Bates but she made no public Will C. MacFarlane. statemem of preference. In effect, she let the public choose the music, and Samuel Ward's melody is what TIle stoI)' of how the music wa s chosen for me poem we sing today. "America the Bea utiful" is a rather unique one. In 1926, the National Federation of Music Clubs Samuel Ward was an orga nist in a number of conducted a contest to obtain a musical setting for me churches in New Jersey. In 1882, he wrote a hymn poem. In "Dream and Deed" by Dorothy Burgess, "Materna 0 Motl1er Dear Jerusalem" which was first p.l04, her biographer states that Mi ss Bales refrail)ed published in cl,e Episcopal Hymnal in 1894. He died from any expression of opinion though she approved before knowing that hi s music became tl1e accepted of the contest. Nearly 900 compositions were melody for" America tl1e Beautiful." After his death, submitted but none were found worthy o f selection. his widow gave permiss ion to use his mel ody of The contest did not exclude compositions already well Materna with "America the Beautiful" and it is now known. Will MacFarl ane's music was a lead in g tl1e "official" music by popular choice. ~ Tempo di Marcia Iit l 8 1.; , . ; F21 r!r.r II t. 0_ be..u-li _ rul for lpa...ciollllk.iel, For am _ benva.nl oL grain. WILLIAM ARMS FISII)m ~ti ? Il 3 g r+3H a fid s La I ~I~ 1. 0 ""II" . ti . f,, 1 for spA .dous skies, For Am . berw."es of c,.ain, _ WII.I.IAM W. SLEErER II I. 0 beau - Ii- Cui ror 'PIl-e::iOUI skies, CLARENCE G. HAMILTON I. 0 buu _ Ii _ ful for Ipa_cioll' . kies, Music by WILl. Co MAn-loKI-A S!!. Munici pal Orga ni!<l , Ponland, Maine .I/,/(Jl ol(, ~ 1----1 - j =- [-:I - e:::J'-=_ t:=-. - o'--ilI -. - '=i- . ='" - 0.-_~qT - - - 0 - - .. 3', I ~,,- .II "'T'"- ":.,- -'. - ,,- ,,- -,:;- . - " ..--· ·- '·. - :· - fJi- _ - ', · 1. 0 ll(":lu , Ii - lui for s l 'a · ciou!'~ k ie!'. Fo , · :lIn · hcr w31't:l'i of Rl'ail1 ,' Some of the nearly 900 compositions submitted as musical settings (or Katharine Lee Bates' poem America [he Beauti{IlI. Courtesy Falmouth Historical Society. 27 ORIGINAL VERSION (1 893) TODAY'S VERSION (1913) a beautiful for halcyon skies, a beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties For purple moun tain majesties Above me enameled plain! Above me fruited plain! America! America! America! America! God shed His grace on thee God shed His grace on thee Till souls wax fair as canh and ai r And crown thy good with bromerhood And music-hearted sea! From sea 00 shining sea! a beautiful for pilgrim feet, a beautiful for pilgrim fee[, Whose stem impassioned stress Whose stem impassioned stress A thoroughfare for freed om beat A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness! Across the wilderness! A merica! America! America! America! God shed His grace on thee God mend thine every flaw I Till parhs be wrought through wilds of thought Confirm thy soul in self<ontrol, By pilgrim foot and knee! Thy libeny in law! a beautiful (or glOIy-rale a beautiful for heroes proved Of liberating strife In liberating strife , When once and twice, (or man's avail 'Who more than self their country loved, Men lavished precious life! And mercy more man life! America! America! America! America! God shed His grace on thee May God thy gold refine Till s el~ s h gain no longer stain Till all success be nobleness The banner of the free! And every gain divine! o beautiful (or patriot dream a beautiful for patriot dream l1'3t sees beyond the years That sees beyond the years 11line alabaster cities gleam Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human rears! Undimmed by human tears! America! America! America! America! God shed His grace on thee God shed His grace on thee Till nobler mcn keep once again And crown thy good with brotherhood Thy whiter jubilee! From sea 00 shining sea! The o riginal version was wrinen in 1893 when Miss Bates was thiny-four years old and a professor of English Literarure at Wellesley College and was inspired by me view from Pike's Peak.