Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-07-02
Grated and Feasted.

Our forefathers of three generations
ago had much more pleasant method Of
celebrating the glorious Fourth than the
advanced urchin Of to-day, with his hys-
terical vortex of booming, swapping, thun-
dering cracking and crashing sounds.
Contrasted with the violent celebration of
this up-to-date age, the Fourth of July
Of fifty or 100 years ago presents peace
ful picture of hearty patriotism more in
keeping with the real sentiment of the
event than the present clustering fashion.
For instance, here is the way the people
Of Germantown, Pa, celebrated the
Fourth Of July of 1918. There were three
cannon in the little town which had done
service both in the Revolution and in the
War of 1912. Several days before the
Fourth the ladies of the place boiled
hams, roasted sucking pigs whole baked
pies by the dozen and biscuits by the
hundred, made all manner of cake gener
ously filled with jam, and on the morning
of the great day deposited the good things
with the proprietor of the best tavern in
town. Early on the Fourth the young
men of the place fired off the cannons two
or three times, as official notice that the
Fourth Of July had come again. AT the
noon hour the whole community met at
the green beside the heaped up
tables. There were speeches and a
prayer, and then the work Of the day be-
gan. Benches were placed on all sides Of
the tables, and the eaters sat as closely
as possible.
None of the ladies dined with the men.
1t was not considered proper. They stood
in groups near the tavern, gowned in their
best and making polite comments on the
diners. In the late afternoon, when all
the men had eaten their fill, there was a
hall in the public house, and it was here
that the ladies really enjoyed the day.
They danced right merrily until well on
toward midnight, when the candles, the
musicians and the dancers were all eX-
hausted.
In the '3O's there was change in the
method of celebrating the Fourth. The
! country was more prosperous, and its pat
riotism had taken more vainglorious
turn. The town Of Newburg- on-the- Hud-
son gave a great Fourth of July celebra-
| tion in the year 1881.
The ladies began the work weeks before
| the Fourth. Committees were appointed,
and each member was to call upon a GER
| tain number Of her friends for contribu-
| tions. Powder was purchased by an
ambitious politician, and the village can
non was shot off at regular intervals dur
| ing the morning of the Fourth. He also
gave small change to the boys of the town,
and this was used to buy peppermint can
| dy and gingerbread. Firecrackers were
very expensive things then, and few boys
cared to indulge in the luxury Of using
them, even If they had the financial
| means.
From early sunrise, young ladies and
young men were busy making and setting
the rude tables, also a place for the ora
| tor of the day. The latter had been in
vited from a neighboring town because of
| his wide repute for eloquence. He was a
young man, who wore his hair long, and
| in ordinary conversation used nothing but
| the most ponderous language. He was re-
garded as one Of the coming men of the
day by the community and himself.
At midday the people gathered at the
church for the grand procession. A band
composed of young men Of the village led
| the way, followed by the three finest
| equipages to be had, in which sat the aged
| Revolutionary heroes. The 1912 veterans
| marched next, and then came all kinds of
vehicles, from the heavy farm wagon to
the light buggy, containing the children
and the very old folks. The orator Of the
day; of course, took as his theme patriot
ism and the great and growing country.
| Here is an example of his style. 1t refers
| to the signers of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence:
Behold these iron-hearted men armed
with dauntless valor, and encased in a
panoply that no human force could shat
ter, and in readiness for battle, stalk bold
| ly forward, and with one stroke of the
pen causea vibration that shall only cease
TO be felt when the universe returns to
primeval chaos"
This was considered magnificent, and
| the long-haired young man after talking
for three-quarters of an hour in this strain
was deemed the hero of the day. After
the deluge of eloquence the joints Of beef
and other delicacies were attacked, and
it was dusk when the feast was over.
Back in the village at night there were
/ fireworks. which were considered magni6-
cent, but which would be sneered at by
the average small boy of to-day.