The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1917-07-07
Grandmother Gray 5
Story Corner

Hurrah For the Glorious Fourth!
."Aw, what's the use OF havin,
any Fourth OF July this year You
cant have any fireworks or do any.
thing. Might as well stay in bed
all day, as to sit around an just
think about George Washington.
Thus spake Jimmie G. one Tuesday
afternoon, the day before, the Great
Day, when he and Bill Hadley and
Harold Jones were sitting out on
the back steps down at Grand
mother Gray's, Tipping stones at q
certain knot in the old cherry tree.
Just then Grandmother Gray her
self happened to open the back
door to empty the dish water, and
she heard the last words.
Why Jimmie Gray" she said,
what are you saying. Just be-
cause it Is not best to sell the pow
der and fireworks for you boys to
burn up in fun this year, is no rea-
son why you cannot celebrate the
Fourth by making all the noise and
racket you want to. The idea of
you three boys sitting around
grumping, because you cannot have
a few little pieces of red paper that
pop. I'm ashamed OF you"
We'll now grandmother pro-
tested Jimmie, what could We do?
Every year we've had all the fire
crackers we wanted. and Bill Had
ley would come over at half past
four an get Harold an me an then
we'd have some fun. But shoot,
what can we do tomorrow? We
haven't got any salutes or greenies
or even those lady-fingers, that
you'd get six packs for a MCKEE"
"Of course not. but you could
have tin pan brigade and then
end up with barbaque on the
commons"
Sure" said Bill Hadley Shaping
Harold Jones on the knee in his en-
thusiasm. I'VE had one Of those
over in Newcastle once, when I was
there, and say fellows. just let me
tell you it's one circus"
What Is one of those barben-
aues, / never heard Of um," said
Jimmie G., taking interest.
"l'll let William tell you, while
finish canning Try Cherries" said
Grandmother Gray. And so while
she was in the house, the boys be-
gan to plan out their Fourth of
July barbecue.
In order to make 1t seem like
real Fourth OF July, they planned
to get up real early, so that the
day would be celebrated long and
loud in that ward of the city.
Shall we ask Tommy Harlow
and that bunch" asked Jimmie G.,
after plans had become pretty well
started.
"Sure, let UNI come" said Bill
Hadley, "the more the better"
All that afternoon and evening
the greatest preparations went on,
for the great barbecue. All sorts
OF noise producing devices were in
vented,-tin cans with a rosin
string put through hole, tin lids
to beat together, "sluggers," old
dish pans for drums, with pices of
brocm-sticks for drum-sticks, pop
pers from the 5 and 10-cent store
which made more noise with pa
per than the ordinary fire-cracker
ever did, and even old-fashioned
tick-tacks where the spool was fas-
tened to q piece of window glass
with a rubber band so that Dick
johnson (the boy who invented it,
could carry it through the streets
with him.
For the barbecue itself, the boys
decided to each take what he want
ed for his own breakfast. Then
Bill Hadley's uncle Fred was back
from the training camp to spend
the Fourth, and he said he would
go over to the commons with the
boys and help them build the fire
and cook breakfast.
But how should they be sure
that everybody would get up early
enough in the morning? Almost
every boy was sure Of himself. but
he wasn't quite sure of the others,
SO finally great system was work
ed out.
Taking dinner bell. four or five
Tin pans, and a hall Of string up