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News from the 2020 Committee
Plymouth 400th Celebration Commission Created by Executive Order of the Honorable Governor Deval Patrick, June 10, 2008
Photo by Paul McAlduff A ceremonial signing of an executive order creating the Plymouth 400th Celebration Commission took place in Pilgrim Hall at 3:00 PM Tuesday. While community leaders and invited guests looked on, Rev. Dr. Peter J. Gomes welcomed representatives from state and local government to the historic ceremony, and introduced Gov. Deval Patrick, who spoke briefly on the importance of the forthcoming anniversary in 2020 and its significance to the citizens of the Commonwealth, and assured the assembled guests that the 400th Anniversary celebration to be planned by the Commission would be both memorable...and fun! Rev. Gomes then introduced Plymouth's own Senator and Senate President, Therese Murray, who seconded the Governor's remarks and thanked everyone who has or will participate in bringing about this highly symbolic recognition of the Plymouth Pilgrims' contribution to the state and nation. The establishment of the Commission will insure, she said, that 12 years from now, Plymouth will enjoy a world-class celebration. British Consul General Dr. Philip Budden, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's representative in Boston, offered his congratulations and promised his office's assistance in what was an important historical milestone not only for the American people, but was a significant part of British history as well. As a native of Southampton, England, from which the Mayflower first set sail to America, he was gratified in being involved with the ongoing plan, and observed that he was pleased that the Mayflower ended up here in Massachusetts, rather than New York, her original destination. State Representative Vinny deMacedo, who represents Plymouth in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and has long been instrumental in forwarding historical observations (as has Senator Murray, a Pilgrim Society trustee), re-iterated the importance of this step in the progress of the anniversary celebration, and read the Mayflower Compact. He was followed by Plymouth and Kingston's State Representative Tom Calter, who observed that Plymouth really knew how to celebrate and commemorate its long history, and regretted that Rep. deMacedo had gotten to the Mayflower Compact first, which he himself had planned to read. Our State officials were followed by Plymouth Town Manager Mark Sylvia, who has been instrumental in the preparations for the celebration from the beginning when Rev. Gomes first proposed them, and recognized Jim Baker, Plymouth historian and committee member. He assured the audience that Plymouth was ready to do the thing right, following the example of 400th anniversary celebrations in Jamestown, Virginia, and in Quebec, and promised that Plymouth's 400th would be one of the best ever, in keeping with the town's long tradition of commemorative events. He was accompanied by members of Plymouth's Board of Selectmen; Richard J. Quintal, Daniel "Butch" Machado, Jr. and Kenneth A. Tavares (the other member of the original planning committee). Rev. Gomes spoke on the meaning and substance of the Pilgrims' contribution to America, their virtues and symbolic example as the progenitors of the American nation, and on his long association with the history of Plymouth. It was in 1962 that he first took a summer job at Pilgrim Hall, an example of the Pilgrim Society's admirable policy of inclusion at a time when such things were rare for those not of Pilgrim descent, and observed that this had been the case since the founding of the Society in 1820. He recognized John Talcott, who had headed the 1970 350th Commission and Peggy Baker, Pilgrim Society Director and hostess of the event in Pilgrim Hall's newly renovated building and exhibits. He promised that the forthcoming celebration would be marked by this tradition of inclusion, and would involve, as earlier celebrations such as that of 1920 had, people of all walks of life and backgrounds. He noted that he had sometimes been mistaken for the Governor, a curious circumstance, but that today we were all one and so the process would continue. Rev. Gomes then led Gov. Patrick to a small table with a re-created Pilgrim chair ("a real governor in a replica chair"), where the Governor signed the Commission into existence. Following the signing, officials and guests mingled in the new exhibit hall and discussed the excitement and optimism that the day's event inspired.
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