THIS LAND OF OURS

one of the most interesting and important of the six states in the northeastern corner of this land of ours known as New England is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for history dating back to the arrival of the first New England colonists Massachusetts proudly calls herself a Gradle of the Republic from one end of the state to the other are reminders of great men and great deeds on the village green at Lexington in a skirmish between Minutemen and crack British redcoats the shot was fired that was heard round the world setting off the war for independence and at the Battle of Bunker Hill under the grim command don't shoot till you see the whites of their eyes Minutemen stood their ground and died that Liberty might live the capital and largest city of the Commonwealth is Foster Boston was the scene of many exciting episodes in America's struggle for independence in the shadow of the old Statehouse British troops fired on a crowd of citizens in the tragic Boston Massacre one of the principal events leading to the revolution [Music] from the belfry of the Old North Church was swung the signal Lantern that sent Paul Revere galloping away to arouse the countryside with news that the British were coming if the words that once rang through the rafters of Faneuil Hall could echo again today we would hear the impassioned oratory of many of our nation's greatest champions of Liberty proclaiming the lofty principles which were to guide our country to greatness out of this crowd heritage has grown the Boston of today a city of almost a million population one of the nation's busiest industrial and commercial centers and the home port of one of the world's largest fishing fleets [Music] comprising practically all of the Granite Peninsula of Cape Ann is the modern industrial cities and picturesque seaport - bluster one of laster's famous landmarks is the Portuguese Church of Our Lady of good boys it's sensitively conceived figure of the Madonna cradling a schooner is sacred to seafaring men around the globe and this giant bronze statue of the Gloucester fishermen faces out across the harbor to the open sea where fishermen pursue their calling with skill and daring undiminished upon the fog-shrouded waters around the grand banks on the tip of Cape Cod Nestle's the best known and perhaps the most colorful of its old villages Provincetown widely known for its art colony of interest historically as the first landing place of the pilgrims Provincetown is the only village in the United States for an authentic Town Crier still makes his rounds ringing his Bell and chanting the news of the day [Music] at Plymouth a rock proposes near the place where the Pilgrim Fathers seeking freedom from religious oppression landed on this continent to establish a free way of life [Music] noted for the number and excellence of its schools Massachusetts was the first state to insist on providing all of its children with an opportunity for education among the states many outstanding institutions of higher learning is Smith located at Northampton one of three of the most noted colleges for women in the state Amherst is regarded as one of the finest of the smaller colleges for men and was the first school in the country to adopt student government the beautiful campus of Williams College at Williamstown in the Berkshires spreads over more than 400 acres dating back to 1790 Williams is recognized as a cultural leader among America's smaller colleges the laboratories of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Boston are ranked with the world's most renowned centres of scientific research and at Cambridge is the oldest university in America Harvard founded more than three hundred years ago and long since recognized as being outstanding among the world's finest educational institutions [Music] although Massachusetts is limited in acreage adaptable to farming nearness to major Eastern markets makes specialized farming profitable of considerable importance is shade-grown tobacco under these huge coverings is grown some of the nation's finest wrapper leaf the raising of poultry particularly the raising of turkeys is one of the state's important farming activities and speaking of Turkey there's plenty of cranberry sauce to garnish mr. gobbler being harvested here these are the famed cranberry bogs of Cape Cod which provide more than half of the total supply of this tasty fruit crops [Music] but Massachusetts is primarily a manufacturing state having been devoted to industry almost from the time it was first settled papermaking in america owes much of its development to massachusetts while the production of boots and shoes is closely interwoven with the growth and prosperity of several cities within the Commonwealth cities such as Fall River along with Lowell and Lawrence are noted for their textbooks also prominent for its text goals is the City of Worcester second largest city in Massachusetts in addition to text goals more than one thousand products bear the maiden Worcester label the most important being Worcester is heavy annual output of steel wire and cable for those who would retrace America's cultural and historical development Massachusetts is practically in Mecca here is the wayside in immortalized by longfellows tales of a wayside in this was the home of John Alden whom Longfellow admonish speak for yourself John and his courtship of miles Standish and this is the little red schoolhouse made famous by Mary slam who followed her to school one day and this house at Quincy has the unique distinction of having been the home of two of America's presidents John Adams second President of the United States and his son John Quincy Adams our country's sixth president for some idea of what Massachusetts has to offer the vacationers there's the lure of the rolling Berkshires for the seasonal hiker and come winter a mantle of fine snow and inviting slopes for the winter sports enthusiast couple these attractions with a thrill of beating along an historic coast under sail and you have one of the most complete and very vacation areas to be found [Music] indeed all this is massachusetts one of the nation's most important industrial and commercial areas combined her industry with her culture for history and tourist attractions and you have one of the most interesting and important states in this land of ours [Music]