Independence Day

Photo from the U.S. American Flag Estate Collection

Traditionally, my family called July 4^th - Independence Day.

Afterall, that is what we were celebrating - a national holiday brought to you by those who rose to the passion of the idea of an independent nation free from tyranny.

Beginning in 1775, some of my long-ago grandfathers and uncles from New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine served as Revolutionary War soldiers. 

Grandfather, James Henderson's  tombstone, Henderson, New York.

Grandfather, Simon Knowles's tombstone, Maine.

No one loved the holiday more than my great uncle George Mattas. Perhaps it was that he too was a veteran, serving in World War 1.

He sent this postcard to his fiancée, Grace Adkins in 1918, with words he believed in: “This flag waves for humanity, malice toward none, liberty for all!”

Uncle George would portray Uncle Sam in local parades. He is pictured at the Milltown home, circa 1920s.

For years we had picnics at his and my aunt Grace’s house in Parkston. Afterwards, Uncle George (as a child, I believed he was very rich, for the number of fireworks he had) would set off a display like no others in the neighborhood!

L-r: Pete, Gloria, Diane, Kay, Margaret Adkins and Grace Mattas. Family picnic, circa, 1952

Great-great Uncle John D. Welch was one of the founders of the Parkston Chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic. He, along with other Union Army, Navy and Marine Veterans of the Civil War, started the fraternal organization in 1877. 

John D. Welch is the 6th man in the bottom row. Photo from the Parkston Historical Society.

They were an integral part of the huge Independence Day celebration in 1889. Led by the Parkston Cornet Band, they marched in the parade that started at the depot, down Main Street and back again!

That day there were horse races, foot races, sack races, pony races and prizes for all of them. Tradition was kept by the reading of the Declaration of Independence. The celebration started with a 500-gun salute and ended with fireworks. 

Parkston Cornet Band. Photo from Parkston Historical Society. Circa, 1890s

Parkston Advance Newspaper, July 1889

In the 1920s, Milltown’s Island Park became the “go-to” place for Independence Day. It offered fishing, picnic grounds, and a towering diving board for adventurous swimmers and of course a dance!

My great-grandparents, Joe and Vincencia Mattas brought their family many times for picnics and a walk over the Jim River bridge to Twelve-mile creek.

The Mattas family at Island Park. Circa, 1920s

L-r: Mayme Mattas, Grace Adkins on the Island Park bridge. Circa, 1920s

Erna and Florence Mc Laury next to the diving board. Circa, late 1920s

One of the Marquardt family in front of the Clayton Store on the Fourth of July.

In the late 1950s, the Marquardt family who owned the Clayton Store, started a celebration there! People came from all around. Ralph Marquardt estimated that there were a couple of thousand people that attended.

Activities included pony rides, chislic feeds, baseball games, and music. “Arts Accordion Band” and the Emery Band performed. You could see the wonderful fireworks display for miles around. There was even a greased pig contest.

Martin Luebke tells this story:

“All of the kids would run after that slippery pig, if you caught it, it was yours! I almost had it once but Roland Marquardt wrestled it from me.”

A big draw was the talent contest. In 1960, Dave Dedrick, a well-known announcer for Kelo Land T.V. and the famous Captain 11, appeared as the MC.

Dave Dedrick courtesy of the Kelo Land Archives. Circa, 1960s

After my great uncle George passed in the 1960s our traditional Independence Day gathering at his house passed too. My father, Pete Adkins, who also loved that day decided it was time for a new tradition – attending the Fairfax Rodeo!

My father would wake us up early by shooting firecrackers under my sisters' and I's bedroom windows. We would then be loaded in the car, flags flying from its antenna, picnic lunch with my mother’s fried chicken secured in the trunk. The Fairfax Rodeo was an adventure! It was truly “old-time.”

Clark Gies, a long time resident of Fairfax, helped me remember the adventure:

“The rodeo was in the ball diamond, a dirt lot fenced off by hog panels. Wooden bleachers were not far from the action. There was a parade with horseback riders proudly carrying the flags, and all the typical rodeo events.”

My father’s favorite event was cowboys riding (more likely trying to ride!) Brama Bulls.

One year we were on the bottom rungs of the bleachers. The dirt and dust would fly, we could deal with that. But when one of the bulls flew against the fence, nearly knocking it over, we hightailed it to a higher view.

Clark told me that one year a bull got loose and nearly made it to Nebraska!

The clowns were my favorite, seemingly risking their very lives to protect the cowboys. Clowns they were however. One clown brought a rabbit into the ring and pretended like it was a fierce bull, I thought it was hilarious. Clark provided small animals for those clown acts. It was a magical time.

Special thanks to Clark Geis and the Gregory County Historical Society for photos of the posters.

But the real magic for me on Independence Day was the fireworks. Not the big displays – but things I could buy at the fireworks stand. Right next to the Catholic Cemetery and just across the street from our house stood the Moran’s Stand. 

A wooden shed filled with “Lady Fingers”, “ammunition” for my cap gun, and “Snakes.” It was a coming-of-age thing. “Lady Fingers” were not “Black Cats," but they were a good start. 

Terry Grajkowske, my grade school classmate, lived on the other side of town. He and his friends, Dave Snyder and Terry Snyder rode their bicycles to the other stand, Gard’s. They were never allowed in the stand, you just pointed at what you wanted and hoped you had enough nickels and dimes to pay for it.

A number of years later, Rob Monson went to those same stands and bought “Parachutes.” He and his friends would go into a field and watch the Parachutes flutter to the ground and then race to see who could get to them first.

Fireworks were illegal in the Parkston city limits. I don’t know how many people obeyed that rule, but my cousin Bill Hoffman was fortunate, he lived just outside. During July, the Hoffman’s had a lot of company shooting all kinds of fireworks.

All advertisements from the Parkston Advance.

At 75 years old I still love the holiday! Plenty old enough now to buy “Black Cats” and young enough still to delight in shooting them off. Like my great uncle, George Mattas it seems I spend a fortune on things that whiz, and fly, and sparkle in the night.

But also, like Uncle George, I have a reverence for Independence Day. I continue to fly the “Stars and Stripes” on my front porch. I know that our country still is a special place, and democracy needs to be celebrated and preserved.