"Economic Democracy"

The Carlisle Colonial Minute Men participating in the Patriots' Day events commemorating the Bicentennial of the beginning of the American Revolution, April 19, 1975

Warning to teenagers: You may see your parents here. Remember, you are supposed to do as they say, not do as they did when they were your age.

• Signs north of Carlisle center diverting traffic away from the parade route
• The boulder and plaque commemorating the march of the men from Carlisle to the North Bridge in Concord on April 19, 1775, awaiting its dedication the following day
• A closeup of the plaque
• Traffic congestion in the center of Concord as overnight campers arrive
• "People's Bicentennial Commision" representatives - otherwise known as hippies and students with time on their hands - survey the scene in Concord center

Exercises in Carlisle Center -

• Bob Thompson describes the historical events of 1775
• Captain of the Carlisle Colonial Minute Men, Norm Geis
• "Order firelocks!" - Fred Abrahamson displays his musket
• At attention for the dedication
• Raising the town flag
• The fifers play a tune
• Oops, a runny nose
• Musket salute
• Marching toward the plaque
• Lined up for the dedication
• A young drummer
• Former captain Bob Heath speaks as the plaque is dedicated....
• ....As does Bob Thompson....
• .... As the dedication is concluded.
• The Chelmsford Boy Scouts (and others) march by on their way to Concord, even as Carlisle's exercises continue
• (Guess they couldn't wait)
• Ceremonies completed, the Carlisle Colonial Minute Men step off on their march to the North Bridge....
• ....With hundreds of townspeople as company

On the Estabrook Trail (old road to Concord) -

• Looking sharp, at least for the first few hundred feet...
• ...But soon surrounded by townsfolk
• Passing by the schools....
• ....Amazing how good everybody looks at the beginning of the seven-mile hike!
• On the road
• An occasional impromptu firing of the muskets livens things up
• Rounding the bend to enter the Estabrook Woods (dirt path)
• A pause for a musket salute at the cellar hole where once stood the farmhouse of the Rev. Thomas Easterbrook, minister in Concord at the outbreak of the Revolution
• Close-up of musket being fired
• The captain nears the end of the Trail (dirt path through the woods at this point)....
• ....With the troops and townsfolk behind him

At the North Bridge -

• Spectators look us over....
• ....As we patiently wait for the signal to parade over the bridge
• Still waiting....
• ....Still waiting
• Once on the other side of the bridge, a chance to straighten up
• A relaxed moment while waiting for President Gerald R. Ford to arrive
• The Redcoats (Tenth Regiment of Foot) arrive
• Captain Norm Geis in a quiet moment
• Onlookers hope to catch a glimpse of the president
• The ragtag collection of 40,000 "People's Bicentennial Commission" followers is safely confined to the opposite shore
• Still waiting for the president
• The Concord-Carlisle High School band
• Police and Secret Service.... the president is near
• Good view
• There he is.... the president of the United States
• A close-up (sorry, slightly out of focus - he was a fast-moving target)
• Rep. John McCormack
• All power to.... him??
• Plenty of Secret Service agents keep the president well-protected
• The Concord Minute Men
• A fifer in the Concord company
• Hippies on the shore, hippies on the water
• The stage used for the previous night's rock concert
• A close-up of the concert stage
• "Economic Democracy" (whatever that is) - the hippies are confined to the riverbank by mounted police
• The police were on the river as well as on horseback
• The fourth estate captures it all
• No protestors were going to get through that line of shoulder-to-shoulder cops
• Isolated from the ceremonies, the hippies set a tree on fire (without asking the tree if it wanted to burn)

The Parade to Concord Center -

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