July 4th, the Fourth of July, or Independence Day – however you refer to the day, it’s generally a day that brings back memories of past July 4 celebrations.
As a kid growing up in Heron Lake, my memories of the Fourth of July centered around spending the day celebrating our nation’s independence in Okabena.
The memories of those bygone years are pretty much the same year after year after year.
The main action was in the city park with food stands and cans of pop in a stock tank full of ice and water.
There were games for the kids. The one that comes to mind is the fish tank game.
It wasn’t really a tank; it was more like a 6-foot-square by 6-foot-high enclosure covered with a canvas tarp.
The fishing pole was the bamboo variety with an attached string and a clothespins tied on the end. You cast the line over the top of the canvas, and sure enough, it wasn’t long and you had a nibble. You yanked the line back out and checked out your catch of the day.
There was always a big crowd around the dunk tank. You got three throws for 50 cents, and if you missed all three times, you ran up and hit the target with your hand, sending the poor guy on the seat into the cold water.
The parade started at 1 o’clock. It was like most small-town parades – a couple of local school bands, clowns, homemade floats, and lots and lots of candy thrown from the floats along the way.
There was always this old car with 2-by-10 board probably 20 feet long running through the car sticking out the back windows with three guys sitting on the board on each side of the car playing musical instruments.
Why I remember that I am not sure. Of course all the local towns were represented by their hometown American Legion post proudly marching the colors through the parade.
I am not really sure if the colors were always at the beginning of the parade out of respect for the flag and the veterans (my dad being one of them) carrying the flags, or if it was so those veterans could be the first to quench their thirst at the local watering hole after the parade. Either way, they have earned our respect.
Throughout the day there were Mites and Midgets baseball tournaments going on next to the city park. The real draw to town was the fireworks. Back in the day, Okabena – the town, not the lake in Worthington – was the place to watch fireworks.
I hope you have good memories of past Fourth of July holidays and certainly hope this year provides you with lasting new memories as well.
Happy Fourth of July!