The Andrews' Garage, Oystercville
I have only a foggy notion of how we celebrated the Fourth of July when I was a kid. For the summers of 1942 through 1951 – from ages six through fifteen – I was at either at Camp Willapa just three miles down the road from Oysterville or I was visiting my grandparents here in town. I have a vague recollection of lighting sparklers and maybe of a few firecrackers set off around a bonfire at the bay, but that’s about it.
For one thing, some of those years were during World War Two. I’m not sure we were allowed to have nighttime bonfires and surely fireworks had been put on hold ‘for the duration,’ at least here on the west coast. Besides that, money was scarce. People just didn’t have a lot of disposable income for such frivolities.
It wasn’t a question if patriotism, of course. That we were patriotic was a given. It was a time of “my country right or wrong,” of Victory Gardens and war bonds, of scrap drives and No Entry signs at the beach approaches. We sang “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” and “When the Lights Go On Again, All Over the World.” Never mind the relocation camps for our Japanese and German friends and never mind that conscientious objectors with the targets of serious discrimination. We grew up believing that we were very patriotic, indeed.
What a contrast those long-ago Fourths of July were to now. Today in Oysterville there are family gatherings at barbecues and picnics. There will be a wedding at the church this morning and The Honorary Oysterville Militia will fire the cannon in honor of the bride and groom.
Tonight there will fireworks up and down the bay in front of town – mostly by non-residents who have come to this far corner to celebrate the Fourth and to light up our night sky with noise and color. I have mixed feelings on that score. Our next door neighbor, though not in residence herself, has a group of friends staying there. Past experience says we’ll be ‘entertained’ until the wee hours, hoping against hope that sparks don’t set the meadow on fire,
It’s tempting to just leave town and hope for the best. We could start things off by going to the parade in Ocean Park and afterwards just continue south to parties we’ve4 been invited to in Ilwaco or Chinook orAstoria. There is a plethora of ‘patriotism’ from which to choose these days… or so we call it.
Let us know if the shopping cart drill team does their thing in the parade! We loved that last year!
Oh, yes, the noise, and also the safety factor. It seems impossible to escape it. At work this morning, several of us are on our third cups of coffee, trying to stay awake after an almost sleepless night (fear not, I’m on a break!). Hard to think of Oysterville as being noisy! And to answer Linda J, above, Okie’s Shopping Cart Drill Team was definitely part of the Loyalty Days parade, so they’re still in good form.
I remember shooting off a certain amount of fireworks with my father in Seaview when I was little, but back then I do not think Long Beach had the big display. I want to say that started in the 1970s or maybe late 1960s. I enjoy the fireworks but our poor dog has developed a fear the last few years so it is stressful on both of us. I would be okay with people shooting off fireworks on the 4th, if they would confine it to then. They start days in advance an I particularly do not like the M80s. We had a Native American student here in Gig Harbor who of course had access to them and blew off several fingers on one hand. This did not improve his life. I am now all about the food for the 4th and I do remember picnics in the backyard at my grandparents in Vancouver. I hope to make those same sort of memories for my grandchildren.