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Show Guard Unit Plans ! Ready for Annual j Muster Day Events I A custom older than our Nation will be ' re-enacted in Springville Saturday, February 22, when members of the 116th Engineer Com- j pany, Utah National Guard ' will gather for their third annual an-nual "Muster Day" observance. Commemorating the day, Mayor May-or J. Emmett Bird has signed a special proclamation. ; Lt. Kenneth G. Larsen, Commander Com-mander of 116th Engr. Co., said the occasion will be mark- ; ed by a muster day formation i and roll call in downtown ; Springville beginning at 1:00 ! p.m., followed by a parade. Also Al-so scheduled are an open house ; and equipment display at the National Guard Armory. At 2:30 p.m., will be the long anticipated Guard Queen contest, at which a queen and i two attendants will be selected ! by a group of judges from out of town. The public is invited to attend the contest, where j nearly a dozen candidates will j present their talents. j The annual military ball at ; the armory in the evening will climax the observance. I Lt. Larsen pointed out that ; the 116th Engr. Co. in one of j more than 6,000 Army and Air National Guard units through- j out the United States and its j Territories which will honor ' the Nation's first President on , the date of his birth. In all, j some 400,000 Guardsmen will participate. The term "Muster Day", he explained, is derived from an old Militia custom which be- i gan during the early days of j the Colonies. Once each year j every able-bodied ' man for j miles around gathered on the j village green for roll call and weapons inspection. " ' This year the citizens of j Springville will do the inspect- j ing not on the village green, but in a modern armory. In- J stead of flintlocks, they will I (Continued on Page 2, Col. 5) Guard Unit Ready For Muster Day (Continued from Page One) inspect the most modern engineering en-gineering and other modern military equipment, and the latest in communication devices.. devi-ces.. "One of the most important contributions we expect our Muster Day celebration to make," Lt. Larsen pointed out, "is a public awareness of how far the National Guard has come during the past 300 years without changing its basic principles of voluntary military training on a part-time basis. The Guard has . demonstrated repeatedly that it can stay up with the times without losing its identity of purpose." |