Patriotism Forest Hills Style, July 5, 1920

By Michael Perlman

Forest Hills Gardens town crier

Back in 1914, the annual Independence Day festival was launched in the Forest Hills Gardens. This set off a tradition where committees, residents, and friends participated in a day-long program for all generations and interests in an exquisitely decorated and uniquely illuminated Station Square, as well as the Forest Hills Inn and Tea Garden, Olivia Park, and along Greenway Terrace. A most historical Forest Hills event was on July 4, 1917, when Colonel Theodore Roosevelt delivered his “One Hundred Percent American” unification speech at the LIRR Station to address WWI. Today, patriotism and tradition continue to echo in a modified form through Children’s Day at Flagpole Green in June. Let’s turn back the clock to July 5, 1920, which marked the 144th anniversary of America’s independence.

The ceremony on Village Green now Flagpole Green

Keeping in mind that the 1919 celebration cost $3,057.90, Dr. Thompson Tyler Sweeny, who served as the Chair of the 1920 celebration, requested that every Gardens family contribute an average of $10. It was anticipated as the greatest of Independence Day celebrations yet! The Forest Hills Gardens Bulletin published, “Not only were the birds singing cheerily to arouse the villagers from morning slumbers, but through the streets early on July 5 came the Town Crier calling lustily to all to come to the Green for the Flag-raising at 9:30.” The ceremony featured members of American Legion Post 630 and Boy Scouts Troop 2 under the direction of Harvey Warren, who served as Post president and scoutmaster. Uniformed servicemen and Boy Scouts assembled in Station Square and began marching to Village Green. After Warren played the part of a Colonial Town Crier, he changed into military garb. The flag was raised and a patriotic prayer was made. A chorus sang patriotic tunes under guidance of the famed Glee Clubs leader Bruno Huhn, with piano accompaniment by Mrs. Charles H. Scammell, who was considered “the foster mother of all good singing of Forest Hills Gardens.”

Children were ready to play games in Station Square at 10 AM, thanks to the direction of Dr. W. F. Seybolt.. The publication read, “There are between fifty and sixty very happy boys and girls who are wearing bronze and silver badges, won at the children’s games in canvas-covered Station Square between 10 and 12 o’clock.” It continued, “With kiddie car races, pillow fights, sack and relay races, a whole program of fun, speed, and skill was carried out.” The lineup also included games for adults such as a baby carriage race, football kicking and ball tossing, tilting matches, tug-of-war between easterners and westerners.

 

At 2 PM, Hawthorn Park became a baseball field where the “Inn Warriors” (the Inns) clashed with the “Station Square Cohorts” (the Outs). An umpire appeared in armor, while a batter wore petticoats. The Daily Star reported, “There will be no tennis this year, the committee having decided that tennis is so integral a part of the life of the community as to make a baseball game a greater diversion.” The Forest Hills Gardens Bulletin stated, “The Outs came nobly from the rear and put the winning run over the plate to the accompaniment of the deafening plaudits of the assembled throng.” It later read, “It was a dashing game, and the narrow margin of one run by which the Outs won their victory shows how closely it was played.” The Inns’ captain was Ray Bell whereas Edmund O’Shea led the Outs. 

By 4 PM, attendees were in tune for opera at Olivia Park, a natural amphitheatre. Milton Aborn directed a company which performed “Pagliacci” by Ruggero Leoncavallo (1892) and “Cavalleria Rusticana” by Pietro Mascagni (1889). The Metropolitan chorus featured 24 vocalists and the Metropolitan orchestra featured 17 members. Scenery was minimal to maximize on the park’s charming ambiance.

Between 5 and 7 PM, festivities included a home-cooked supper by the Women’s Guild of the Church-in-the-Gardens social room for $1, where the proceeds would benefit the Community House fund.

At 7:30 PM, they made their way back to Station Square for a band concert and the community Choral Club that performed several patriotic airs comprised of nearly 75 vocalists. Another highlight was music at twilight by the Regiment Band of the 22nd Corps of Engineers, a 40-piece band under Master George Briegel. The evening continued with dancing in Station Square at 9 PM, lasting until midnight. The Forest Hills Gardens Bulletin read, “The dance on Station Square, lighted by myriads of red, white, and blue incandescents, will fittingly close a happy family and community patriotic day – the Independence Day of 1920, long to be remembered”… “The decorations will consist of myriads of American flags interspersed with those of the Allies, all placed to produce the best effect.” It also stated, “All the lads and lassies, maids and matrons and escorts danced on the canvas covering until – well, why tell the hour – for the music was the best and the night balmy.” Over 3,000 people were in the audience and among the dancers, and Chairman Henry W. Hirschberg was commended for this final feature.

The festival offered a humanitarian aspect. Proceeds from the refreshment booth, which served ice cream cones, lemonade, iced tea, sandwiches, and cake, benefited the Big Sisters of Queens Borough. Based on the prior year’s partnership, the Big Sisters received over $200 and assisted seven children who would have traditionally ended up in institutions, and ultimately helped them find suitable homes. 

Reflecting on the festival’s success, the publication stated, “Our friends and relatives were here in such numbers that it was apparent that our village is growing, and that everyone likes ‘our party,’ as Dr. Sweeny, the chairman, called it.” It continued, “The most impressive and appropriate part of the program, in the humble opinion of the editor, was in the Flag raising and the singing of the newly christened Choral Club.”

A similar version was featured in Michael Perlman's Forest Hills Times column: http://foresthillstimes.com/view/full_story/27760129/article-1920s-patriotism--Forest-Hills-style

4th of July: Forest Hills Edition

4th of July 1917, Station Square costume dance

This is Michael Perlman's article, "4th of July: Forest Hills Edition," published in the Forest Hills Times/Queens Ledger on July 4, 2012. Please feel free to comment & share:
http://www.queensledger.com/view/full_story/19208316/article-4th-of-July--Forest-Hills-Edition

Patriotism and tradition echo in Forest Hills. In recent times, on the weekend following Memorial Day, Forest Hills Gardens organizes a celebration known as Children’s Day at Flagpole Green, which features decorations, face painting, cotton candy, hot dogs, raffles, and games.

Historically, music has played a significant role in Forest Hills Gardens celebrations, so attendees can expect to rejoice to the sounds of John Philip Sousa, a late American composer, who is noted for his patriotic and military marches.

Stepping back in time, Forest Hills Gardens witnessed the light of very elaborate 4th of July commemorations on the actual date. The teens are nearly a century ago, so let’s place our modern minds into the shoes our ancestors walked, and stand in the footsteps of triumph in our country’s earliest planned garden community. Station Square, Village Green, and Olivia Park were classic sites of rich tradition, and exist in a pristine state to this very day.

July 4, 1914 marked the Gardens’ first annual Independence Day celebration. Since the population of the community was minimal, and Forest Hills at large was a small town, the first celebration was noted for its camaraderie.

Greenway Terrace became an al fresco dancing pavilion, which signified the first step of solidarity. A highlight of the second celebration in 1915 was the Pageant of Colonial Times in Station Square, the dedication of the Piping Pan bird fountain (cherub blowing a flute) in Olivia Park with Baroness von Rottenthall’s interpretative dancing, and the Fourth of July Committee’s acquisition of a silver cup for annual tennis matches, which began that year.

 The Forest Hills Gardens Bulletin defined the success of teamwork through organizations and residents in 1916, which read, “The Fourth of July Celebration at the Gardens is primarily, yes wholly, a community affair. It is the people’s day – a memorial of the first great test of unity in this country, and it is interpreted here in the Gardens as an expression of organized community effort.”

That same year, attendees participated in the dedication of a 108-foot flagpole on Village Green, with an inscribed bronze collar at the base. The official flag of the Forest Hills Gardens was first to be raised on the 4th of July.

An allegory called The Happy Stranger was presented in the natural amphitheater-style Olivia Park. The Red Cross Society generated proceeds by selling ice cream, Cracker Jacks, lemonade, peanuts, popcorn, and lollipops under the Square’s archways.

 In great anticipation, Gardens residents decorated their homes, and the Committee on Decorations and Illuminations applied their touch to Station Square and Village Green. The iconic Forest Hills Inn offered special menus and decorations. The Inn’s Tea Garden was boasted as a particular attraction, since children of the entire community were treated as guests to a party of their own.

 One of Forest Hills’ most notable 4th of July moments took place atop the steps of Station Square’s Long Island Railroad Station in 1917, where onlookers heard Colonel Theodore Roosevelt’s One-Hundred Percent American Speech. He pleaded for allegiance to the America of Washington and Lincoln, and thousands cheered in response.

A miniature Greek temple was erected in Olivia Park, which functioned as a stage setting for attendees witnessing the light of Ralph Renaud’s The Masque of Liberty.

A 1918 highlight was U.S. Senator Calder’s speech in Station Square. That year had a more sacred feel, since wounded soldiers and sailors of WWI were honored over dinner at the Church-In-The-Gardens. Students of Louis Chalif’s famed dance school performed in Olivia Park.

 The success of the U.S. and her allies played a pivotal role in the 1919 commemoration. An excerpt from the Forest Hills Gardens Bulletin captured the spirit.

“Nothing was more impressive than the raising of the Flag by a member of the old Rifle Corps while the people assembled sang the Star-Spangled Banner, and nothing was more skillfully done than the reading of the Independence Day Proclamation of the Citizens by the Town Crier, Harvey Warren, in old New England costume. Captain Horace F. Pomeroy, chairman of the celebration committee, spoke of the history of the old Rifle Club – the first military organization of Forest Hills – and then introduced the Rev. Rowland S. Nichols, Chaplain of the Rifle Club who spoke briefly and offered prayer.”

The Forest Hills Rifle Club was the first case of loyalty locally, and its revival for the celebration was integral.

Beginning at 9:30 a.m., Village Green hosted flag-raising exercises, the Community Chorus sang patriotic airs, and the Rifle Club reunion took place. Station Square hosted political addresses at 11 a.m. Tennis matches took place at the Forest Hills Inn Courts at 12:30 p.m., which featured the Inns vs. the Outs. The Inns lived in the Forest Hills Inn, and the Outs lived throughout the Forest Hills Gardens.

At 1 p.m., attendees enjoyed children’s games, as well as the French Doll Dance, where female dancers were assisted by the Boy Scouts. Games included yard dashes for children, grand tilting matches for parents, a kiddie car race, a paper fight, a sack race, a baby carriage race for fathers, a pillow fight, an optic contest for adults, a half-mile relay, and dressing and obstacle races.

At 4:30 p.m., The Golden Day allegory by Ralph Renaud took stage at Olivia Park, where locals and talented students of the Chalif Normal School of Dancing performed in a sylvan setting. The play featured the harmonious Butterfly Dance, The Dances of The Summer Nocturne, and The Song of The Birds. The setting was complemented by an orchestra of strings and a vocal interlude.

At 7:30 p.m., under incandescent lights and electric streamers with flags and pennants, nearly 3,000 attendees would enjoy the 9th Coast Artillery Band Concert in Station Square, followed by the flamboyant Costume Dance at 8:30 p.m. Popular costumes were the Pierrot, Pierrette and Yama Yama.

Artists designed highly stylized 4th of July posters annually. Herman Rountree’s 1916 poster depicted a clown and a mule with astonished children in period clothing in the backdrop. It read, “Yes Mule – It’s The Greatest Show on Earth.”

B. Hooper’s “Coming July 4th” poster from 1916 depicted a clown-like child rejoicing on a circus elephant bearing a humanly expression of wisdom and holding high a 4th of July flag.

Rountree’s 1917 poster depicted the Forest Hills Inn and Station Square as the backdrop of Village Green, where bystanders witnessed the raising of the flag. That same year, another one of Rountree’s posters captured the masquerade feel of Station Square with the train station in the backdrop. On various levels of creativity, beauty was indeed in the detail!

A typical celebration called for glorious expression, as in the case of Gertrude Knevels’ Station Square – A Fourth Of July Impression, which read:

Old Glory from the Tower looks down. 
To bless the folly of the town,
Lights, laughter, color everywhere –
Wise folks like happy children there,
At play in Station Square.
Far over all the clear night sky
Spreads tender hands – What hurries by? – 
It is the train that grumbling goes,
Bearing the world and all its woes
Away from Station Square!