CELEBRATING THE 4TH by Marion Ekholm

Our town, Mahwah, New Jersey, was one of those chosen for a two year celebration of the Bicentennial, and a special parade was planned for July 4^th, 1974. The churches were asked to participate. My husband was going to a church meeting and told me he didn’t want us to work on it. He’d been asked to be in charge and had said no. I was warned under no circumstance was I to volunteer. Fine. I wouldn’t volunteer.

While he was off to the meeting the phone rang. It was from a friend who was also at the meeting, and she had talked to my husband about doing the float. All she needed was my approval. I thought my husband must have reconsidered, so I said sure.

OMG!

World War III started when my husband came home. Why had I agreed, especially when he told me we shouldn’t get involved? Fine, he said, “If you want to do it, you can very well do it without my help!” My reaction – fine, “I’ll do it by myself,” because I didn’t want to let the congregation down (although I was ready to k… my friend for tricking me into this). World War III continued during the following weeks.

I contacted a friend about borrowing a trailer for the float. Since this was for the Lutheran Church, I visualized a cross with a Martin Luther flower which was prominent in so many stain glass windows. My husband did come around to lift the heavy cross made from railroad ties, but he offered little encouragement. I constructed the chicken wire form for the flower under the leaning cross. Numerous volunteers arrived the night before the parade to assemble the float – in the pouring rain. We kept the crepe paper and tissue paper roses covering the chicken wire dry under a tent. Fortunately, our garage was clean enough to back the float under cover. 

The next day the sun shown. Our children marched in the parade, and I drove the vehicle that pulled the trailer. The place where we parked the floats was only a quarter of a mile from my house so I walked home with a migraine. I told my mother-in-law I had a headache and no one should disturb me. I stayed in bed, even when someone came to the door to say our float won first prize for the churches.

Two years later, on another sunny day our town celebrated the Bicentennial, one of my most wonderful memories (so different from the one two years before.) Just down our street the area was closed off for all the events scheduled.

My family walked there in the Colonial clothing I made, and we were photographed by everyone with a camera. That cast on my son’s arm was for real. He broke it three days before and won a special medal for best boy's costume.

Special medals were made at the foundry. A limited number of brass ones were made as prizes (one my son is wearing) and the silver colored ones we could buy. An eagle representing the bicentennial was on one side and the railway museum on the other. My daughter won a cake on the cakewalk; my husband shot his black powder rifle out over the pond along with another man in costume; we danced on the tennis courts and watched fireworks later in the evening. Wonderful time.

Have you had a memorable Fourth of July? Or maybe a memorable headache?