The Topeka state journal., 1919-07-04

a white lily, and two little nieces
of Miss Erickson, Thelma Carson and
Pearl Higgins will carry dainty bas-
kets of flowers to be scattered in the
pathway of the bride and groom.
Miss Ericksons dress is white
Swiss organdie, made short, and
trimmed with hemstitched ruffles
The front of the blouse, neck. sleeves
and sash are finished in filet lace.
She will carry a bouquet of brides
roses and lilies Of the valley.
Miss Erickson has lived in Topeka
all of her life and has a large circle
of friends in the city. Corporal Jones
is in the service of the United States
army. His regiment BAT, is stationed
at Camp Funston, where he is in the
motor transport company. His home
is in Duluth, Minnesota
X X *
Flags in front of the more enthusi-
astic homes. strangely vacant streets,
few cars crowded with children and
picnic baskets, here and there the
sound of a cap pistol and a very small
boy recklessly pointing his miniature
gun at the passing cars-these are the
street scenes of Fourth of July morn
ing in Topeka. Oh, times amt what
they used to be! Remember when
you were wakened in the gray. gray
dawn by the sound of a giant cracker
and you thought, Gee whiz, that must
a been big one-must o. been the
one they've had down in Martins win
dow. Wonder who shot it Off And
then just as soon as you dared-soon-
er If you were a boy-you got out of
bed almost as excited as you are on
Christmas morning and stole down to
your carefully horded stack of noise
makers; torpedoes, firecrackers of all
sizes, caps and pistol or cane and the
lovely long cylinders that sent forth
stars and balls of fire at night You
had been collecting them for weeks
and every extra nickel you could get
went for one more pungent smelling.
red wrapped, fantastically lettered
bunch of crackers. You loved them
almost as you did your dog-you had
treasured them so long. Some you
had opened just to gaze in rapture on,
the four even rows of red crackers
with their fuses so intricately woven
together that it took care not to pull
them out and make it necessary to use
them for ''sizzers." But now that day
had come when you could joyfully and
freely separate them all and after they
were gone there was another bunch and
another and another. But first before
you lighted your punk and got ready
for the real work of the day there
were the torpedoes SO easy to shoot
off and somehow appropriate for the
opening fire. You know how they
come, packed in sawdust. those lit
tie bags of tiny pebbles wrapped in pa
per twisted so tightly at the top which
you held as yoC aimed squarely ct the
cement walk-and you dreaded that
first one just a little-or quite a little
if you were a girl. But you knew it
was just like going in swimming, once
you are in and wet all over it doesn't
seem cold or bad at all And after a
while you'll be as oblivious to the noise
as a veteran of Gettysburg (this was
before the day of the Argonne so we
must not use it as an eXample).
And from then on the family stop
ped trying to sleep and the excite
ment grew. After breakfast the
neighbor children gathered in and you
all worked at shooting crackers with
as much avidity as cannibals do at
eating their guests. In one small,
dirty hand you held piece of punk.
olive drab in Color, tho they didn't
call it that then, and with the other
you would apply the fuse of the firm
ly held cracker. and then when the
fire had crept up the fuse far enough
so you felt sure it wouldn't go out
but not 100 far to go off in your hand,
you tossed it away and watched IL ex-
plode. Sometimes you waited a little
longer and threw it up so it went off
in the air. That was a great feat.
But mother had said be very careful
and at first she objected to thatA But