Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-07-08
-Four Fourths

long way off, to spend Independence
day and a fortnight or so besides
and was now comfy seated with
mother on the cool veranda opposite
the hammock in which sat Dick and
Dollie, anchored and under bonds to
keep cool and quiet until the clock
strikes three"
This sitting-still,i init e-heat-of-the.
day business gets my goat growled
Dick, discontentedly.
Yes, and when there's such lot
still to get ready for tomorrow" groan-
ed Dollie. 20 grandma, don't you just
love tomorrow"
''Grandmas and mothers never do
love the Fourth of july" interrupted
Dick; don't you know that? There's
too much noise and fuss and gunpow.
der about it, isn't there, grandma?
"Oh, l don't mind noise,' laughed
grandma, land l like happy fuses;
though, to be sure, I have had lots of
burns and blisters caused by gunpow.
der to treat in my day. But, like Dol
liekins, l love Independence day and
there are some of the days shall new.
er forget"
Some of emp" wondered Dick; "on-
ly some Of emf" while Dollie slid out
of the hammock. begging, 20 grandma
tell us about those some Fourths,
please do"
There's the very first one can re-
member unused grandma, looking
back through the years, during the
civil war; and it must have been the
Gettysburg victory that was celebrat-
ed at the same time. I remember stand
ing with my much older cousins, at the
head of Couwenhoven's Lane, with
strict injunctions not to stir one foot
further, listening to man in unifcs n
who was reading something to an. at
tentative crowd. What he read inter
ested me far less than the salute which
was fired, directly aftcrward, from the
two field pieces dragged down for the
purpose from nearby Fort Hamilton;
and l still seem to feel the sickenins
thud with which each discharge. a.
such close range. seemed to smlte my
poor little tunmy
Then there cane many other per-
fectly good, just plain Fourths until,
late on the night Of July 5. 1876, |
found myself, together with many
more young folks belonging to the fam
lily, upon the roof of tall Union
Square Office building. a celebrating
Independence Days centennial. Be-
sides the fact that there was twenty
times the usual noise and rockets ana
fifty times the usual crowd, there was
not much difference in the usual pub
lie fireworks, until the United Singing
societies began to sing the Star Spang-
led Banner The refrain was swelled
~ q
such volume and such sOlemnfty that
| never have and never shall forget It.
After many. many July FOurtns
spent in watching my own rapidly
growing boys and girls safely through
their several enthusia site celebrations.
came one close and snltry Fourth,
when, wheeling my first small grand
child up and down the block, after
hot and noisy night. to let her catch
the shy, early morning breezes, I way
laid the newspaper boy; and in the
paper he handed me l read, beneath
red and blue head lines, of our VIC
tories in the Philippines, OF lombard
ings, cannonadings and sink1ngs. MY
first 'grandchild-yOur cousin Nellie,
children-is a tall college girl now, for
that's many years ago; but l still seem
to hear, see, and smell the din, the
flare and the powder murk OF that hot
pandemoniac, nerve racking July
morning.
Then, after dozen odd years, there
came a brand new sort of Fourth
the first of long line, let us hope or
sanely, safely celebrated independence
days. A day of parties, flag ralslngs,
and kite fyings: an evening of patriot
ic songs and ice cream feasts among
brilliant and innocuous sparkler decor
ated trees and bushes! day without
scare or startle to infant or Invalid;
with never a scorch or an ache or
pain in it for anybody! These four
Fourths. so different from one another
and so far apart in time, IN period, anu
in sentiment, are the four FOurtns
shall never cease to remember.
81 love your stories, grandma, sign
ed Dollie smuggling closer. But Dick
looked bit troubled and wanted TO
know: you're not an invalid, grand
ma, are you?" and across her ana
mothers merry laughter he ADDED,
And it takes more'n a little DIT OF
noise to scare you, don't 1t? You sald
YOU liked happy fusses.'
eff the noise don't last very long
admitted grandma. land I could 1eei
nerfectly sure no one was getting
hurt"