Back to previous section -- Forward to next section -- Return to Table of Contents

The Yellow Day

By this name is designated Tuesday, September 6, 1881, when all nature took on a glaring yellow hue, unlike anything ever before known. The epithet correctly described the condition, and yet, paradoxical as it may seem, it was a dark day. The sun's disc was not visible. A smell of smoke pervaded the air. One could not discern the hands of a clock across an ordinary room, nor see to read away from the window. The glare produced pain in the eyes and an indescribable, sickly sensation. Though business was not generally suspended, it was carried on with difficulty. The next day was cloudless and intensely hot. The phenomenon was supposed to be due to forest fires in Canada, sending down smoke through peculiar atmospheric conditions, not to be explained.

Arbor Day

The new festival, "Arbor Day," was first publicly observed in Hampton, in 1886, an act for its establishment having been passed the year previous. The governor's proclamation for its observance, Thursday, April 29, met with a somewhat hearty response in this town. Maples were set in the high-school yard and by the roadside along the cemetery front, and pines, on the avenue on which the high-school building stands. Individuals have planted trees on each succeeding Arbor day. Back to previous section -- Forward to next section -- Return to Table of Contents