The first day of kindergarten is a significant moment – and this year, some of Rochester’s newest students had a little extra company for the ride.

            On Friday morning, August 29, Old Rochester Regional School District and MA Superintendency Union #55 Superintendent Michael S. Nelson joined Rochester Police Chief Michael Assad Jr. and Lt. Zack Dupere aboard Bus 5 for a special ride-along with incoming kindergarteners on their very first trip to school.

            The bus, driven by long-time driver Annie, picked the trio up outside the Rochester Police station before stopping to pick up students.

            “Hey, does anyone need a ride, fellas?” Annie, the bus driver, asked.

            Superintendent Nelson, Chief Assad, and Lt. Dupere joined in the fun, joking about their own Paw Patrol backpacks and first-day nervousness.

            “The kids weren’t quite sure what to make of us being on the bus at first,” Superintendent Nelson said. “But within minutes, they were telling us all about their summers and showing us their new backpacks. It was an awesome way to share in their excitement.”

            Chief Assad said the idea came to him as a way to make students feel welcome.

            “For a kindergartner, that first bus ride to school can feel like a huge step,” Chief Assad said. “We wanted to be right there with them to show them that school is a safe and fun place, and that their community is cheering them on.”

            The ride lasted nearly an hour before the students and their special guests all walked into school together, where teachers and staff greeted them.

            Superintendent Nelson wishes to extend a special thank you to bus driver Annie, who has been transporting Rochester students for many years.

            “Annie is truly the best of the best,” Superintendent Nelson said. “Families know her, kids love her, and she connects with students in a way that makes every ride a great one.”

            Friday marked the third day of school overall, but the first day for kindergarteners. Thanks to the extra effort from school and police leaders, it was a day they won’t soon forget.

            “By the end of the ride, the kids were asking if we’d be there in the afternoon,” Superintendent Nelson said. “Starting kindergarten is a big milestone. We just wanted to make it a little more special!”

            This week in Revolutionary War History, let’s discuss what was going on 250 years ago in and around the colonial Province of Massachusetts Bay. Last week, Washington concluded his spout with General Thomas Gage, gunpowder was successfully stolen from Bermuda, and Washington appointed Thomas Mifflin to Quartermaster General in continuing attempts to curb the Continental Army’s supply crisis.

            On August 20, 1775, Washington writes to General Philip Schuyler at Fort Ticonderoga apologizing for supply delays. He says he has met with members of the Continental Congress from Philadelphia, who assured Washington powder will be forwarded north. He also instructs Schuyler to “seek a strict neutrality of the Indian Nations,” or don’t engage in battle with local tribes as to not push them into allying with the British. He also says, if possible, broker offensive alliances. Washington then outlines the most important message of the letter, “The design of this express is to communicate to you a plan of an expedition, which has engrossed my thoughts for several days: It is to penetrate into Canada.”

            While we now benefit from hindsight, the Continental plan was to march north from Ticonderoga, go around Montreal, traverse along the Saint Lawrence River and assault Quebec City. Quebec had, by far, the most population of any Canadian city. Capturing it would secure the loyalist colony and disallow the British from supplying in the region. That’s the thought, at least. There was also the prevailing sentiment that the French Quebecois, having been conquered by the British about 15 years earlier, would ally with the 13 Colonies. Washington promises to send Schuyler an additional 1,000 to 1,200 and envisions Colonel Benedict Arnold leading the incursion.

            A couple days later in keeping with the theme of supply shortages, Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut writes to Washington saying, “We are greatly exhausted” and states no powder has arrived following his request. He states he and the state General Assembly have encouraged the people of the state to collect saltpeter and sulfur, issuing bounties for both materials essential in powder creation.

            On August 22, Washington’s General Orders stray away from supplies and instead focus on something else. “The General does not mean to discourage the practice of bathing, whilst the weather is warm enough to continue it; but he expressly forbids, any persons doing it, at or near the Bridge in Cambridge, where it has been observed and complained of, that many men, lost to all sense of decency and common modesty, are running about naked upon the bridge, whilst passengers, and even ladies of the first fashion in the neighborhood, are passing over it, as if they meant to glory in their shame: The guards and [s]entries at the Bridge, are to put a stop to this practice for the future.” Incredible. Again, the ragtag group of farmers seriously lacks discipline.

            We move across the pond to London, August 23, 1775. King George III issues and signs a proclamation at Saint James Palace. It is titled, “A Proclamation, by The King, for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition,” more generally known as the Proclamation of Rebellion. The King states the colonies, “misled by dangerous and ill designing men,” are hostile in their obstruction of commerce and law. Britain now officially sees itself in a full state of war, with the King telling subjects “to use their utmost endeavors to withstand and suppress such rebellion.” There is also a hunt for traitors and conspirators. The Olive Branch Petition, sent to London by the Continental Congress on July 5, was therefore rejected and ignored by King George III.

            In further escalations, on August 25, General Richard Montgomery leads 1,500 men out of Fort Ticonderoga, officially beginning the Quebec Campaign. Benedict Arnold will depart Massachusetts in a few weeks to link up with the general, in an effort to flank Quebec City.

This Week in Revolutionary History…

By Sam Bishop