of his troops were brought through this town on their way to the
sea-coast. When Washington came up to visit New England after he had
been President, he came through the town of Weston, and I do not know
whether this is any reflection on the cooking of those days in the towns
to the west, but it says in the history of the town of Weston that at
one time when Washington stopped at the hotel in Wayland, although the
hostess had provided what she thought was a very fine banquet, he left
his staff to eat that and went out into the kitchen to help himself to a
bowl of bread and milk. I suppose he would not be thought to have done
that because he was a candidate for office and wanted to appear as one
of the plain people, because that was after he had served in the office
of President. But he stopped here in the town of Weston and was
entertained here at the hotel. And many other great men passed through
here and were entertained here from the time when we were colonies clear
up to the time when the railroads were established along in the middle
of the last century.

So this town has had a long and interesting history, and has done its
part in building up Massachusetts and giving her strength to take her
part in the history of this great Nation. And it is pleasant to see how
the work that the fathers have done before us is bearing fruit in these
times of ours. It is interesting to see this beautiful building. It is
interesting to know that you have a town planning committee who are
placing this building in a situation where it will contribute to the
physical beauty of this historic town. We have not given the time and
the attention and the thought that we should have given to things of
that kind in Massachusetts. We have been too utilitarian. We have
thought that if a building was located in some place where we could have
access to it, where it could be used, where it could transact the
business of the town, that was enough. We are coming to see in these