Memories of the Fourth? Not Many..

Today I was trying to think of memories of The Fourth of July Holiday when I was growing up. Ummm…funny, but I really can’t think of any except a few times that Grandma G. and Maurice took me along to a local amusement park on the 4th for a “Harvest Show”. It was a display of many old tractors, farm equipment and harvesters that were used in the early days of agriculture to farm. There was one of them every year at the Williams Grove Amusement Park. I would walk around with Grandma and Maurice and they would talk about how much more modern equipment was compared to the “old days”. The old farmers always liked looking at the equipment that their ancestors had to farm with. The show would end with fireworks over the lake there at the park. That was the real reason I liked to go, was so I could see the fireworks. It was the only place I ever saw fireworks when I was growing up. Our small communities around our farm did not have fireworks displays like they do here in Duluth.

I guess my Dad was always busy farming when the 4th of July holiday came, and he didn’t stop farming or take the day off. We didn’t have a family get together for the holiday, and I really can’t think that we did anything special except Daddy would light some “sparklers” in the yard that night. That was about it.

More important to our family than any 4th of July celebration was the Sunday after the 4th of July, it was always the family reunion of my Mother’s side of the family. It was held at a church hall that had a pretty grove of trees by it. Always at the same place, all Mom’s aunts and uncles and cousins, second cousins would be there, at least 50 or more people. There was a picnic lunch, games for us kids, and one of the uncles always brought ice cream Dixie cups for everyone, we always had to wait until later in the afternoon for the treat. This annual reunion gave us cousins an opportunity to get to play with and know our 2nd and third cousins, as well as our 1st cousins, and our Great Aunts and Uncles. It was great. I always loved it. A few years ago, the family reunion celebrated their 50th year of getting together. Every year I say that next year I should plan my trip home around the Wiley Reunion. Some year I will.