THE LATE R. A. LAWRENCE. 



Since the parade of 1905, the Association has sustained an irrepar- 

 able loss in the death of Robert Ashton Lawrence, its first president. 

 Mr. Lawrence not onh' contributed ver}- largely to the funds of the 

 Association, but was always its staunch and enthusiastic supporter. His 

 warm heart and manl}- impulses, his readiness to assist the needy, his 

 sympathy with all sorts and conditions of men, his modest}' and simplicity 

 endeared him to his associates. From childhood he had shown a deep 

 love for horses, his favorites being the thoroughbred and the cart-horse. 

 In early life he took some part in amateur races, and he had all the 

 instincts of the genuine sportsman of the old school, being wholly free 

 from affectation, courteous and quiet in manner, but punctilious and 

 dignified. In many respects he recalled the men of a generation before 

 the Civil War when Henry and Eclipse ran their famous four-mile heats 

 — the North against the South — and the sporting aristocracy of the 

 whole country gathered to witness the event. 



Mr. Lawrence was killed b}' a fall, while attempting to board a 

 moving train, at Chestnut Hill, near his home, on the twenty-first day of 

 September, 1905. His age was thirty-nine years. 



Resolutions upon his death were passed by the directors of the 

 Association, who attended his funeral in a body. 



At a recent meeting, it was voted to give, at each annual parade 

 hereafter, a gold medal, to be known as the Lawrence Medal, which shall 

 be the principal prize offered by the Association. It is hoped that this 

 medal, and his generosity to the Association will, for many years to come, 

 preserve the memory of its first president and best friend. 



The Association regrets that the pressure of other duties compelled 

 Mr. C. S. Rackemann and Dr. J. W. Bartol to resign as directors. The 

 places on the board thus made vacant by death and resignation have been 

 filled by the election of Lewis A. Armistead, Francis Peabody, Jr., and 

 Benjamin W. Wells, Fire Commissioner of the City of Boston. Dr. 

 Austin Peters, the first and faithful Treasurer of the Association, re- 

 signed that post in January, 1905; but the Directors retain the benefit 

 of his sagacity and experience, for he continues to be one of their 

 number. His place as Treasurer is taken b}' Mr. Joshua Atwood, 3d, 

 who, from the beginning, has represented on the board the city govern- 

 ment of Boston. 



