Contributing Writer
"Congratulations to Hampton on its 300th birthday. This historic town, known throughout the country through its beautiful beach, which is one of the most popular vacation spots in America, is showing the world this week that it has many other attractions as well as its seashore. It figured extensively in the early history of our country and its many old Colonial houses are a source of delight to the thousands who are taking advantage of this tercentenary week to visit them.
"The town, itself, has numerous attractive scenic spots, such as Tuck Memorial Field, and its country roads provide opportunities to drive through beautiful foliage. Its homes are well kept with many green lawns and brilliant flower gardens, and visitors passing through its thriving business center are much impressed with the general atmosphere of modern progress.
"This week, however, these up-to-date scenes are being interspersed with views of by-gone days, when the stage coach to Boston stopped at General Moulton's to pick up the mail and allow its passengers a respite from the wearisome ride, of days when "Goody" Cole was persecuted as a witch. It is a far call from stage coach days to the thousands upon thousands of automobiles that nowadays pass through the town on the Lafayette Highway or on the way to the beach; and is a far call from "Goody" Cole to the bathing beauties of today that decorate the sands at Hampton Beach, but down through all the days that have passed since the days of "Goody" Cole, and the other early settlers, there has been a march of progress. Hampton has progressed until it is one of the most widely known towns in New Hampshire, and the beach has grown from a few cottages among the sand dunes to a beautiful city in itself. At night with its wealth of electric signs and decorations it presents one of the most brilliant spectacles along the entire coast. It is, without doubt, one of the cleanest beaches of the Atlantic seaboard and its deserved popularity is attested by the vast number of people who visit it on every pleasant day. Many of the historical homes of the two towns are open to visits during this tercentenary week and undoubtedly thousands will take advantage of the opportunity of seeing valuable antiques and early momentos which have been carefully preserved by the old families.
"The members of the committee that prepared the celebration plans have worked long and faithfully over a period of many months and they deserve the heartiest of congratulations as they have prepared a celebration program that is entirely worthwhile.
"Hampton has shown great progress over the past 300 years and there is no doubt that it will continue to grow and prosper through the years to come, as it residents have retained much of the ability and spirit of their pioneer forefathers."