A New Generation and Bedford's Historic Legacy

Fifth-grade students from Lane School were up close and personal with the original Bedford Flag at the Bedford Free Public Library during the 2022 Walk of Bedford ~ Image, JMcCT (c) 2022 all rights reserved

The center of Bedford literally pulsated with clusters of fifth graders on Friday, as five groups of about 40 kids each snaked from one local landmark to another, marking the return of the historic Walk of Bedford.

Inspired by an ideal spring day and the enthusiasm of teachers, parents, and local historians, the students experienced the town’s historic cluster: the Bedford Flag in the library, Fitch Tavern, First Parish Church, Old Town Hall, and the Old Burying Ground.

“For many years, our grade three students did a Walk of Bedford,” said Lane School Principal Rob Ackerman. “A few years ago, we switched it to grade five to connect with our curriculum. It was great to be able to do it again after not being able to for the last several years. We had a lot of help from parent volunteers setting up the visits to the various sites in town.”

Stephanie Keep, owner and resident of Fitch Tavern, was a prime organizer of the event. The structure at 12 The Great Road hosted the Bedford Minutemen for their last meal before mustering and marching to battle in Concord on April 19, 1775. “You don’t buy a house like this if you don’t want to share it. We know how much the town loves it.”

Keep said she consulted with Town Historian Sharon McDonald, “because Sharon knows everything.”

“When you go to museums, they have activities to keep the kids engaged,” Keep noted. “So I had each person in charge of a stop give me a couple of questions.” She transcribed the questions and copied the worksheets that the kids turned in at the end. The prize for correct answers was a Bedford Flag decal that fits nicely on a water bottle.

Some of the questions were: “What did Mr. and Mrs. Fitch feed the Minutemen before they marched to Concord?” “Why do some people have more than one gravestone?” “What three things did Bedford need so it could become a town?”

In preparation for the walk, Keep said, Lane School third graders, studying Bedford history, prepared a slide show for their younger counterparts.

Grade five teacher Katie McKinney also helped organize the Walk of Bedford. “The students loved connecting what we taught them in school about the American Revolution to specific people and places in their own town,” she observed.

During the student visits, Keep actually delivered her Fitch Tavern speech 10 times. She had recruited Drs. Shirley and Roy Kring, fife and drum musicians with the Bedford Minutemen, to provide a little music and an informal ‘muster’ in the rear garden, so each visiting group was split.

Keep said she often hears from adults who remark, “I came to your house on a field trip in third grade.’ There’s so much to be proud of.”

Over at the Bedford Free Public Library, McDonald “showed the Bedford Flag and talked about its history. It was glorious fun and I was ready for a nap when it was over!”

“I was surprised once more by kids’ versions of the flag,” McDonald recounted. “One fifth-grader said it looked like a dragon having a fight with a knight who is waving his sword and the dragon had bitten the knight’s arm off and he was breathing smoke out of his mouth. (If you squint, you can kind of see it).”

Volunteers from the Bedford Historical Society staffed the other three sites. Doris Smith, who started the history walk when she was a librarian for the elementary schools about 40 years ago, presided in the sanctuary of the First Parish Church.

“It’s important to know the town’s history and the people who made it,” Smith said as the fifth graders streamed out the doors and onto the Common. “Bedford is a special place.”

Over at the Old Burying Ground on Springs Road, Alethea Yates brought students to the graves of Eleazer Davis and Israel Putnam and also explained that hundreds of 18th-century residents were buried in unmarked graves because they couldn’t afford stone markers.

Yates also led the groups to the cemetery’s northeast corner, the African Reservation, resting place for 18^th century Blacks who were enslaved. She noted the small monument in honor of three of them who joined the Minutemen on April 19, 1775, at the battle that launched the American Revolution, and noted, “They were fighting for a country that wouldn’t let them be free.”

Kira Kerwin, a board member of the Bedford Historical Society, spoke from the small stage in the Great Room of Old Town Hall, focusing on 19th-century trends and personalities. Her slide presentation included old photos of children at play as well as the town’s early tourist attractions—the Sweetwater Hotel at Fawn Lake and the Lexington Park zoo. Around the perimeter were displays of implements and other early artifacts. Earlier this year, the Historical Society moved to offices on the ground floor of Old Town Hall to accommodate increased space needs and renovations at the Police Station. Recently retired society president Don Corey noted the group’s delight in being able to seat so many students along with multiple displays of the society’s artifacts in the Great Room.

“We all feel it’s important for students to know their community’s history,” Ackerman commented. “There are people who travel across the country to visit the area to learn about our country’s past. We have a fascinating history right here in town.”