Happy Birthday to Us

Here comes the Fourth of July with fireworks exploding across the sky.  Pyrotechnic professionals work to outdo each other with their displays in this annual collage of colors.  Independence Day is America’s birthday, and it’s a party to which all are invited.  People throughout the land celebrate in a variety of ways with picnics, concerts and time at the beach. 

We mark July 4th as America’s official split from British rule and the beginning of the Revolutionary War.  But a closer look at history shows that there were a series of events over a long period of time that culminated with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. 

The original resolution was introduced by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia on June 7, 1776, and it urged the Continental Congress to declare the United States free from British governance. 

I was a young boy raised in the 1930s, and it was a decade of mixed blessings.  Herbert Hoover was about to vacate the White House to be replaced by President-elect Franklin Roosevelt.  Our home in the 30s was a farm house built in 1867.  It was heated with coal.  We had no bathroom, only a shower and a commode in the basement. 

My mother was great.  We had jarred fruits and vegetables.  She preserved peaches, cherries, pears and string beans.    The living room was the hub of our life.  Radio was king then.  We listened to Lowell Thomas, Amos ‘n Andy and Kate Smith.  The radio commanded an incredible audience.  It was everyone’s passkey to adventure, music, comedy and news.  I think my mother spent most of her life in the kitchen, but she still found time to sew. 

On the 4th of July when I was a boy, many towns had parades.  By the mid-1900s, picnics became a national tradition.  Many companies hosted company picnics.  We had many picnics at home on the 4th of July because we had a barbecue grill.  Then later we started to have them at North Park, where we could swim, play ball and ride bicycles.  Mom would supply meals of cold broiled chicken, potato salad, pickles, homemade bread, baked beans, sliced tomatoes and deviled eggs.  This scrumptious meal was topped off with apple pie.  The holiday was capped off with fireworks. 

As we celebrate our nation’s 231st birthday, let’s take time to appreciate our country, pay our respect to those that have died to protect our freedom and remember to fly the flag.  God bless America! 

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Joe welcomes any ideas, suggestions or interesting stories.
Email him at northcon@nauticom.net. Please put "Town Crier" in the subject line of your email.

To contact Joe to schedule an appointment to tour his museum at McKnight Elementary School, call the Northern Connection office at (724) 940-2444 or email northcon@nauticom.net. Please put "Museum Tour" in the subject line.

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