Salisbury Association Celebrates 100 Years

The Salisbury Association was founded a century ago for the purpose of furthering the interests of the town, so the organization decided the best way to mark its 100th anniversary would be to celebrate a century of the Town of Salisbury. So that's what a dozen members of the Centennial Committee have been planning under the leadership of Association board member Roberta "Bobbie" Olsen.

Most of the activities and events will occur in July, beginning with the traditional Fourth of July festivities at the Town Grove, which the Salisbury Association has produced for years. This year, instead of a recitation of the Declaration of Independence, a Tri-Arts group will dramatize the story of what happened to the 56 men who signed the declaration.

The concluding event will be a town party at the Town Grove from 4-7 p.m. on Saturday, July 20. It's an appropriate place for the celebration; one of the Association's endowed funds, the Toulmin Fund, is dedicated to helping maintain the grove.

An event which occurred early was a Sunday, June 1 guided walk in the Schlesinger Bird Preserve, located about two miles north of the town center. Birder Tom Schaefer guided the hour walk beginning at 8 a.m., when the greatest variety of birds was anticipated. Mary Schlesinger donated the 22 acres, now a bird sanctuary, to the Salisbury Association Land Trust.

From June 15 through July 6 in the historic Academy Building, where the Association has its offices, photographs from the Association's photo archive depicting "A Century of Service" will be on display. Models made by Salisbury Central School fifth graders of Salisbury buildings of a century ago will be on display on the second floor of Town Hall from June 15 through July 15.

On Saturday, July 6, the Holley-Williams House and Museum will have a day of activities for children and adults, including the opening of a photo exhibit, "John Jordan, Community Photographer."

From July 8 through July 28, the Academy Building will have an exhibit of artifacts and photographs about Mt. Riga's history. Mt. Riga was the site of charcoal production for Salisbury's early iron industry and the source of water power for other early manufacturing. The morning of July 13, there will be a bus tour, "From the Mountain to the Fountain," with presentations on historic sites related to Salisbury's Mt. Riga area.

During the afternoons of Saturday and Sunday, July 13-14, the Corner Croquet League will hold a tournament on the lawn of the White Hart Inn of Salisbury. The game be international rules six-wicket croquet, a sport begun in Great Britain in the mid-19th century.

Also on July 13, there will a guided walk along the Railroad Ramble, where the railroad track used to run, which has been upgraded by Salisbury Association Land Trust members.

Lou Burgess, long-time chairman of the Historic District Commission, will present a lecture with slides on the town's history the evening of July 11 in Town Hall. Another lecture in Town Hall, "The Faces of Salisbury: Portraits and Places in the Art Collection of the Salisbury Association," will be given by art historian Richard Boyle the evening of July 18.

Sheldon's Horse, a Revolutionary War Encampment, will be in town on July 19-21 with drills and demonstrations, muskets and cannon.

A book, Salisbury—Historic Impressions, is in production and should be available the first of July. The 96-page, two-color, 9x11-inch publication will contain 150 photographs, most of them from the Salisbury Association photo archive. The book will also contain "An Historical Sketch of Salisbury," first published in 1899, written by one of the Association's founders, Malcolm Day Rudd; and another essay about Salisbury in last century, written by Town Historian Norman Sills.