Mark Twain Memorial Tablet
Special to The New York Times
HANNIBAL, Mo., May 15. - As a memorial to Hannibal's illustrious Mark Twain, (Samuel L. Clemens,) the boyhood home of the great humorist, located on Hill Street, was presented to the City of Hannibal this afternoon before several thousand people by Mr. and Mrs. George A. Mahan, both of this city. It was in this home where Mark Twain dreamed the fancies that have made all the world happier, and where so many of the incidents of "Tom Sawyer" occurred.
All Hannibal did honor to the great humorist. The afternoon was declared a holiday and business in general was suspended. A number of visitors attended. A procession of honor headed by the First Regiment band, followed by carriages containing city officials and speakers, with citizens and school children on foot, marched to the home from Commercial Club headquarters.
Among the speakers were Dr. Walter Williams, Dean of the School of Journalism, University of Missouri, and the Rev. Dr. Benjamin E. Sylesly, Jr., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, who told of the days when Mark Twain was a boy. Prior to the presentation Mr. Mahan read a letter from Albert Bigelow Paine, Twain's biographer. In presenting the home to the city, which was accepted on behalf of the citizens by Mayor C. T. Hays, Mr. Mahan said:
"The boyhood home of Mark Twain has been presented to the City of Hannibal with the hope and in the full belief that it will be maintained and used as an inspiration to its citizens, to the people of Missouri, and of the Nation as well."
Return to The New York Times
index
Quotations | Newspaper Articles | Special Features | Links
| Search