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Fairs, Onirti, and oWcrvable Day Fitted to the LariruHeol Fortv Degrees, and a Merirtian of Fiv Hoor» Wf rt G-otT I tnJm, bur may without fenfiSle Error fcrve ah ihe ad- jacent Places, even from Ktivfeundhxl ro Scuth- Cirolhia Fy IUCH'AB.D S/lWNDERS.VhWom. PHIL ADFLPHI A: Printed and fold by fi FRjSNKl./S, at the New I Printing Offic.- neai 'he Market The Third Imprcflloc. '' FACSIMILE OP THECOVEli OF "POOU UICH- ARD'S AliilANACK." Bicentenary of BenjamiQ pranKlio's BirtF) January SeveQteen Nineteeo Hundred and Six Under the Auspices pranKlin Business Association praoKlin, Massachusetts TIIK SENTIXKL rilKSS FRANKLIN. Gift Publish' 3lJa'07 The Many-Sided pran^lin Mechanic Designer Engraver PriQter Editor Journalist Author Publisher Essayist Moralist Philosopher Poet Farmer Trader Soldier Musician Athlete Reforroer plQancier Statesrrjon Diplomat ScieQtist Inventor Society Man Wit aod Philanthropist IMPORTANT DATES AND EVENTS. Dale Age 1706 1714 8 1716 10 171S 12 1720 14 1723 17 1724 18 1725 19 1726 20 1727 21 1729 23 1730 24 1732 26 1733 27 1736 30 1737 31 1742 36 1744 38 1749 43 1752 46 1753 47 Events Is born in Boston, Jan. 17 (Jan. 6, old style,) the lotli cliild oi Josiali and Abiali(Folger) Franklin. Senl to --'chool. Taken out of school to assist his father in his tallow- chandler's shop. Becomes an apprentice in the printing office of his brother. Anonynionsly contributetl literarj- articles to the Ne\v England Courant. Runs a\Yay to Philadelphia. Goes to London. Works at his trade in London. Returns to Philadelphia to work in dry goods store. Is ill. Couipo-^es his epitaph. Organizes a literary club called the Junto. Pnblishes the Penns3-lvania Gazette. Marries Deborah Reed (Rogers,) Sept. i. Founds the Philadelphia librar_y, the first circulating lil)rary in the coiuitr}-. Begins jniblication of Poor Richanl's Almanac, continued for 25 years. Begins the stud}- of P'rench, Italian and Spanish. Enters puljlic life as clerk of the Pennsyhania as- sembly. Is appointed postmaster of Philadelphia. Organizes the first fire department in America. Invents the first stove successfidl}- xised in this country. Organized ;u scientific society which became the American-Philosophical society and subsequent- ly the American Academy of Sciences. Founds the Pennsylvania academy, which becomes the University of Pennsylvania. Proves that electricity is an element, by receiving the discharge of lightning on a kite string. Is appointed to office of deputy postmaster general of the colonies, and begins the foundation of 6 The Bcnjnuiin Fnmkliii Cclchnition our present jkisUiI system. Harvard college confers on liini the degree of B. A. 1754 4S Connnissioner from rennsylvania at the Congress in Albany and submitted a plan for a union of all the colonies luider one government. 1755 49 I'rocures wagons and supplies from the people for Braddock's expedition against the French at I^'ort Duquesnet Pittsburg). Leads in defence of rennsylvania against the Intlians. 1757 51 Is sent to London a.s the agent of Pennsylvania. 1762 r>b Received the degree of LL. D. from the University of Oxford, St. Andrews and Epointetl member of a commission to negotiate a treaty of peace. 1782 jh Signed jireliminary articles of ])eace at Paris Nov. 30. 17^3 77 Signed (lelinite articles of ])eace at Paris vSept. 3. 17*^5 79 Returns to his home in Philadelphia. Is elected ])resident of the Common wealth of Pennsylvania. I'resents lil)rary to Town of Franklin. 1756 80 Is re-elected. 1787 81 Again re-elected. Hel])s frame the constitution o* the United States. 1790 84 Dies at his home in Phihideliihia. Buried in Christ Churcli >'ra\ e\arcl in that citv. 17^3 .57 1764 .5« 1766 60 1770 b4 1775 69 By the Town of Franklin, Mass. 7 POOR RICHflRD'S MflXiMS. Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears, while the used key is ahva5-s bright. The sleeping fox catches no poultry. Drive thv business ; let not thy business drive thee. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. There are no gains without pains. He that hath a calling hath an office of profit and honor. Diligence is the mother of good luck. One today is worth two tomorrows. Handle your tools without mittens. Remember, the cat in gloves catches no mice. Constant dropping wears away stones. Little strokes fell great oaks. Trouble springs from idleness. Three removes are as bad as a iire. Keep thy shop and thy shop will keep thee. Many a little makes a mickle ; a small leak will sink a great ship. Buv wdiat thou hast no need of and ere long thou slialt sell thy necessaries. Silks and satins, scarlet and velvet, put out the kitchen fire. Always taking out of the meal tub and never putting in soon comes to the bottom. It is hard for an empty sack to stand upright. Lazy folks take the most pains. God gives all things to industry. Plow deep while sluggards sleep and you will have corn to sell and to keep. If you would have your business done, go; if not, send. 8 The Ik-nJ.'itnin l^ninkliii Cclchnitloii FRANKLIN'S RULES OF CONDUCT. At the age of 22 l-'ruiiklin drew up tor his own guidance a set of precepts, in which he gave a prominent phice to humil- ity and chastity. The others were : TKMI'KRANCK. Hat not to (hiUness ; drink not to elevation. SlI.KN'CK. Speak not hut what may iK-nefit others or yourself: avoid trifling conversation. Okdicr. Let all vour things have their places ; let each part of your business have its time. RH.SOM'TIOX. Resolve to jierform what you ought : perform without fail what >ou resohf. Fricv.\i,itv. Make no exi)en>e but to do good to others or yourself ; i e, waste nothing. I.NDISTKV. Lose no time ; be always employetl in something useful ; cut off all unnecessary actions. Sl.NCKRITV. Use no hurtful deceit ; think innocently ;ind justly: and, if you speak, speak accordingly. JUSTICK. Wrong none b\- doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are yoiu- dutw MoDlvR.VTlO.N. A\acliustlls liiis (iom- nie the luiiKir of iiaiuiiiji itself after iiu-, and i)r()i)0-.iiij.j to l)iiiUl a stec])lc to their iiuttiiijj liouse if I would j;ive them ahell. I have advised the sparing themselves the ex- ])ense of a steeple for the i)reseiit. and that the_\- would accept of hooks instead of a hell — sense heiiija; i)referahle to sound. These are intended as the c; inmencement of a little parochial lihrary for the use of a society of intellij;<^'it. resjiectahle farmers, such as our country jieople jjeiieral- Iv consist of." I Letter from lienjaniin I'ranklin to Dr I'rice in reference to the gift.) BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BIRTIiDflY CELEBRATION Arranged by the pranKliQ Business Association, Morse Opera House, praoKliO' 'Vlass., Wednesday Even = ing, January Seventeen, Nineteen HuQdred ar)d Six PROGRAM MARCH— "Father of Victory" .... Gannc JAPANESE SERBNADK— "Poppies" . . Morct POPULAR MEDLEY— "Starlight" . . . Morse ADDRESS OF WELCOME— Judge H. E. Riiggle.s, Pre.sident of Association ADDRESS— Lieut. -Gov. Eben S. Diaper, representing the Com inon wealth XYLOPHONE SOLO— Szvain ]Mr. Berton ADDRESS— Ex-Gov. John L. Bates, "lioston the Birthplace of Benjamin iManklin" OPERA — "E;rmine" .... Jakoborvski ADDRESS— Prof. Arthur W. Peiice. " Franklin Hiid the Franklin Library" ORIGINAL POEM— Miss Maude L. Ray ENTRE ACTF:— "Happy Heiuie" . . . Laiiipe ADDRESS— Leon H. Vincent, "Franklin as a Man of Letters" CoQcert by Poole's Boston Orchastra from 7 30 to 8 o'clocK- A Few pacts F^clating to tbe ToWQ of pronKliQ Its Past. Present and future By the Town of Frnnldin, Mass. ^3 FRANKLIN is centrally located on liiK'i. level kuul, 27 miles from Boston, on the main line of the Midland Division, of the N. Y.. N. H. & H. R. R., with branch- es in one direction 20 miles to Providence, and the other connecting with the N. Y. Central R. R. The Milford, Attleboro, Franklin and Woonsocket and the Norfolk Western electric lines give frequent communications b e t w e e n these centers and also be- tween Franklin and Boston and the smaller surround- ing towns. The former company owns Hoag L,ake where it maintains free pleasure groiuuls with numerous attractions. This line also runs to Lake Pearl and Archer's Lake, two of the most picturesque lakes in New England, which give the pul)lic attracti\-e oiiting places for a five cent fare. Franklin is a thriving, ener- getic, modern town, with all the re- cent advances in the line of superior schools, good streets and roads, electric lights and sewerage sj-stem, well kept sidewalks, free local and rural mail facilities, abund- ant water supply and beaiitifnl lawns; keenly alive to all that is progressive and desirable in residential and industrial direc- tions. The town of Franklin was set off from Wrentham in 1778 by a legislative act incorporat- ing the westerl}^ part of the town 14 The IScnjnuiin I-'rnnkllii Cclchniti'oii of Wreiitliaiii in the (then ) connty of Snffolk, into a town by the name of Franklin. The n a ni e originally selected for the town was Exeter. and the bill in- corporating it mi- der that name jxissL-d two rL-admi^- in Uk- lycgislalnre, when it was changed to Franklin, thougli the records fail to show by whom the change was made or under what anthorization. Since that time it has gradually passed through that period of transi- tion from the typical New England villagi with its proneness to quiet and comforta- ble ease, its conscr\ - atism and iviiin.i-iuiii of ;iini)k- ijrojxirtion-. I"raiiklin is justly l)r(iutl <>l' Dt-aii Acaileniy, and the ni(--ni(iry of Dr. Dean is cIrt- ishc-.l witli rc'vc-R-nce and lovr. Dr. Dean gave to the school by gift and hy his will (Mer a quarter of a million dollars. Franklin is especially proud of its record of famous sons, enjoving as it does the enviable dis- tinction of being the birth])lace of one of the worlil's most famous edncalor-. Horace Mann, in \vlu)^e honor our High school was named. He was elected to Congress to till the jdace made vacant by the death of John Ouincy Adams, being in the House at the period of the hottest slavery agi- tation. He declined the nomination for the governorship of Massachusetts to become the president of an obscure western college, obedient to an ideal. Ever closely linked with the material prosperity ot this town will be the names of the "Rays of Franklin," svnonymo u s with en t e r - prise, busi- ness daring, won il e r f u 1 fi n a n c i a 1 By the Town of Franklin, Mass. 17 inanagenieiit and foresight. From luunble l)eginnings in 1839, willioiTt capital or influence, they steadily in- creased in wealth and busi- ness enterprises until their fame and influence extended far and wide. To Francis B., James P. and Joseph G. Ray i> Liigel\ due the upbuilding and continued prosperity of Franklin. Tn this connection should be mentioned the late Hon. William F. Ray, whose sud- den death in 1898 was a severe blow to the town. Possessed of remarkable energy and capacity as a manufacturer, a suavity ■If M^ I ' '•"^'^m'-,^^ II !■■ ITT" ^^^^^jjBtSS agWIBBgSi^Wi ' ■of manner which won him friends everywhere, a distinguished future was certainly before him. A prominent factor for many years in the industrial life of the town was the Thayer family, Major and Davis Thayer, Jr., and Emery Thayer, all of whom left their impress upon this • - town in a marked and help- ful degree, being pioneers in the straw business, and mak- ing Franklin among the first few towns in this country to embark in an enterprise of this nature. Among other men now passed and gone whose i8 The Ilcnjunui) h^rniiklin Cc/chr.'itioii V ^i ► /v n AV" rrs I'f i= r Uv' wp-^p ^ names lia\e ht'oii cimiicctL-il with llic in- tlnstrial ami social life of Franklin, are A. Hartvvell Morse, Eihvin Trowhridjie, Charles J. McKen/.ie, Daniel C. Collon, A. A. Riissegne, Clias. W. vStewart, Jas. M. Freeman, J. C ("Tallison and the Whitings, F-ishers, Nasons, Metcal fs Ponds, (ireenes, Daniels and others. This beantifnl Soldiers' Monument was ])resented ts luundation. Capital and labor sustain pleasant relations. Labor troub- les are unknown. A great many of the operatives own com- fortable homes. It has a National Bank with a surplus of over one hundred thousand ilulhir.-, in existence since 1865, and ^ thriving Savings and Cc-Operative Rank. One factor of growth is the diversity of in- dustries. Towns wliicli ha\e but one source of em- ]) 1 o y m e n t for their wage earn- ers suffer period- icallv seasons of By the Town of Franklin, Mass. 21 depression, panics, strikes or business niisnianagement, entail- ing wholesale disaster in comninnities of limited activities. It is , universal- ly conced- ed that the life of a place de- pends up- on its manufacturers. No town can be designated as "alive" that does not have in its midst factories, mills and shops, busy with theluim of industry, the active energy of mechanics, artisans, opera- tives, etc. Ag- riculture m a y ^ serve its place in the industrial life of a community, but a dis- tinctiveh' agricultural place is never "alive." Ever since the Pi 1 grim Fath er s disputed with the red skin- ned abor- igine s the right to occupy and populate this section, from that mo- ment manufacturing has grown apace, and nothing is more re- markable than the tenacity with which manufact- uring h a s held its own in competition with other branches of in