Saturday, July 1, 2017

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun -- Fourth of July Memories

Calling all Genea-Musings Fans: 

 It's Saturday Night again - 
time for some more Genealogy Fun!!


Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

It's Saturday Night and the Fourth of July is Tuesday - let's have some Genealogy Fun! If you're reading this on Sunday morning, or even later, it's not too late for you to participate.

1. Think of the best Fourth of July you remember from your childhood.

2. Think of the best Fourth of July you remember from your adulthood.

3. What will,  you do on the holiday?

4. Write about one, or all, of them on your blog or in Comments to this post, or on Facebook or Google+. 

Here's mine:

1. The best memory I have from my childhood was going over to my father's cousin's house and playing with sparklers and watching firecrackers go off. San Diego County was, and still is, a firecracker free county (but many break the law, of course). My father's cousin's husband, Chuck (we always called him just "Chuck," but his real name was Marshall Beal Chamberlain) bought firecrackers and sparklers from Tijuana (or from someone who snuck them up from Tijuana). And my brother and I got to wave the sparklers around. Chuck and his buddies would shoot off the firecrackers in their enclosed patio and yard. This may not sound like a big deal to you, but it was "forbidden fruit" in the 1950's for this San Diego boy.

The other memory I have is going to my grandparents house on Point Loma and driving along Rosecrans Street in their 1950 Hudson with fireworks going off overhead, fired from the Yacht Club nearby. I never liked being real close to the booms and these were a little too close. 

2) In the 1980s, we often went to Coronado Beach on the 4th of July, sometimes with the girls softball team or the girls Brownie/Girl Scout troop. It was always a "build sandcastles, jump in the waves, try to bodysurf, 
get sunburned, roast hot dogs, burn S'mores" event, and our daughters and their friends enjoyed it tremendously.  For several years, the softball team and coaches (I was the coach, Linda the manager) rode in an open truck in the Coronado 4th of July Parade down Orange Avenue. 

3) The Chula Vista Presbyterian Church is adjacent to the San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, and every year the Country Club has a fireworks show.  For many years, the church had a congregational picnic on July 4th on the patio outside the Family Life Center, followed by pulling out the lawn chairs and watching the fireworks over the Country Club, which is just several hundred yards to the west.  We have a great view, and it is great fun to see our friends and celebrate the day.  In recent years, we haven't had the picnic, but we still go at about 8 p.m., set up the lawn chairs, and enjoy the fireworks with our friends.  We'll be there on Tuesday night.



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Copyright (c) 2017, Randall J. Seaver


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6 comments:

Lisa S. Gorrell said...

I wish I have some photos of these memories.
http://mytrailsintothepast.blogspot.com/2017/07/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-fourth-of.html

Seeds to Tree said...

This is a great question. When I was 10, we moved to a house that was on the border of a large park, where they held the fire works for our suburb. We just sat in our back yard to see them, volunteer firefighters nearby. I remember one year, probably when I was 12, that my parents gave a big party inviting families. This was rather unusual (for my parents to hold a party including kids), but so much fun!

Then history repeated itself after my husband and I got married. For over 20 years, our family home was 2 blocks from the fireworks. Again, we watched it in our back yard. We gave several parties, with kids. Fun! Or we just invited friends over to watch.

Over the years, the trees got very tall and blocked the display, so we went upstairs and looked through our bedroom windows. Either way, afterwards I loved sitting on our big front porch watching everyone walk by, saying hi to people we knew.

Now we've broken tradition of living near the fireworks displays, but we plan to go to friends for an old fashion potluck party. Happy July 4th to everyone!

Linda Stufflebean said...

Here is my post about my 4th of July memories and plans: http://emptybranchesonthefamilytree.com/2017/07/saturday-night-genealogy-fun-4th-of-july-memories/

Mary Rohrer Dexter said...

Here is mine for this week: http://skeezicks1957.blogspot.com/2017/07/saturday-night-genealogy-challenge-4th.html

Mary Rohrer Dexter said...

Jacquie, I too lived where I could see the fireworks from my deck when I had my condo in Indiana. I lived there for ten years and it was a nice way to spend the holiday. Thanks for reminding me!

Mary Rohrer Dexter said...

Randy - you made me smile with your story of your childhood illegal fireworks. I wouldn't have guessed it.