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– Photo courtesy of the Wakefield Historical Society.
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– "This gentleman was captured by the photographer in 1889, under the South Reading town banner which was originally carried in the July 4th, 1844, birthday celebration. The banner reads, 'Protection to our manufacturers - razor straps (strops) - shoe tools - bitters - boots - shoes - tin ware.' The musket and powder horn were originally carried in the Revolutionary War, while it is claimed that the tin lantern was one of the lanterns which hung at the Old North Church on the night of April 18, 1775, for Paul Revere's signal to 'Ride and spread the alarm through every Middlesex village and farm.' The present Wakefield town seal was adopted in 1878." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.

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– Photo courtesy of Tony and Jean Giuliano.
– 1 picture :
– "Sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, the July 4th celebration was touted as a $5,000 celebration, $1,000 of which was for fireworks. A 50 foot banner, advertising the celebration was strung across Wakefield square on a Saturday, 'just in time to catch the eye of the Sunday automobile traffic.' The banner was suspended between the roof of the Chamber of Commerce building and the Kingman Block and was of the 'net style' so that the banners advertising the July 4th celebration could be taken down and the net used to promote other town-wide celebrations. To promote participation in the parade, the Executive Committee agreed to allow prizes for floats in the following divisions: male section, fraternal; finest appearance, fraternal; women's section; and women's organization making the finest appearance. Rain postponed or canceled many of the events which were scheduled on that day. The midnight bonfire went off as planned, as did the parade and the bell ringing at 6 a.m. The fireworks were postponed until July 6th because of dampness and the scheduled parachute jump, flying exhibition and 'hair-raising stunts by Richard Cobb and Harold D. Cates' were canceled due to low clouds. To pay for this event, every person in Wakefield was encouraged to give a $1.00 donation." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.

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