Fireworks For the City's 225th Anniversary

I'm happy to report that the city will have fireworks as part of its birthday celebration this year after all.

The display will be Sunday, August 15, with a rain date set for Sunday, Aug. 22

Fireworks will be set off from Perkins Street property owned by Jarre and Whit Betts. High on Chippens Hill, the display will be seen for miles.

I wrote about this for Friday's edition of The Bristol Press (www.bristolpress.com), so if you'd like more details, check it out there.

p.s. If you want to see fireworks for the Fourth of July, the closest ones to Bristol are at Lake Compounce.

Fireworks Update

Mayor Art Ward just told me that there's a chance the fireworks for Bristol's 225th anniversary party will go on after all. He said City Councilor Ken Cockayne is working hard to make it happen. And people have called his office to offer donations, Ward said.
Stay tuned.

A New Civil War Monument

These guys pictured above were Bristol's last four surviving Civil War veterans, according to my friend Tom LaPorte, who spends enough time in the Bristol Room at the main library to know such things.
Tom tells me the photo was taken on May 30, 1926 in front of the West Cemetery Civil War monument. From left to right are: George H. Bates, George B. Chapin, Walter H. Hutchinson, and Edward H. Allen.
I talked with Tom and other members of a special committee earlier this week about plans to raise money for a new Civil War memorial, to be placed on the Boulevard and dedicated Memoria Day, 2011.
This dedicated committee, led by Peter Imperator, is starting to raise money for the monument. They told me the beautiful brownstone monument pictured above, and dedicated in 1866, less than a year after the end of the Civil War, is in danger. The stone rots from the inside out, they said, and the crumbling of the memorial is not a matter of if, but when.
They figure they need about $15,000 for a nice monument, with a brass plate for the names, which are eroding from the brownstone. If you can spare a donation, it's a noble idea.
I wrote a story about it for The Bristol Press and think it might be running in Saturday's edition. (www.bristolpress.com)

Racing In The Street

Turns out there will be a soap box derby on Main Street this summer after all. Get set for the races on Sunday, June 13, the 225th anniversary of the founding of Bristol.

It had appeared that the Main Street streetscape project would collide with the plans for the races, but -- I know you'll be shocked to learn this, shocked -- the state approval for the streetscape project isn't in yet and that's why the city can't move forward.

It's the state's money, so I guess they can reserve the right to give the project the thumbs up or not, and in this case, it works out nicely for the Bristol Historical Society, which is leading the charge to celebrate the city's 225th anniversary. So the race gets a green light and the project will start a little later in June.

I wrote about it for Wednesday's edition of The Bristol Press (www.bristolpress.com).

If anyone out there in blogville is a former soap box derby racer who wants to reminisce, let me know! Email me at jmajerus@bristolpress.com.