Childhood Memories of the 4th of July

[JuniperLea]

My sister wrote this... it was just too good not to share!




4th of July

The best day of the year. Next to Christmas, the 4th of July holiday is the pearl of my childhood memories. My grandparents, Sam & Olive Dugan, really knew how to do it up! Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, neighbors…… and the contraband.



While Olive was in the kitchen with my Mom and Aunts putting together the classic, American BBQ feast, Sam would take all the kids to the local Red Devil Fireworks stand in Lomita. He would always buy the biggest damn box of fireworks available; back then, the Block Party was the shit (4th of July was a BIG DEAL). He would give us all money to buy what we wanted; sparklers, snakes, spinning flowers were all favs of us girls. The boys, of course, bought strands of firecrackers, bottle rockets, Piccolo Pete’s (crimped in the middle with pliers to give it a kick!) among other incendiary items for amusement. They also had their Bangsite Cannons to add to the festivities. Do you remember the “punk” stick that you light with a match and it stays lit and you use it to light your fireworks? Yeah, we had some of those but, the preferred method? Grandpa’s stogie (cigar). Burned hotter and lit everything faster. I remember the boys sneaking a hit from the cigar between Piccolo Pete’s.



Once we were armed with the mother lode of pyrotechnics, we get ready for the feast. BBQ chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers were all usually on the menu, of course. The ladies would put together the most enormous bowl of potato salad imaginable; topped with sliced, hard boiled eggs and sprinkled with paprika. Barbecue potato chips, green onion dip, Aunt Pat’s cream cheese w/chili sauce dip, tossed salad with too much Wish Bone dressing, Jello salad w/marshmallows, that really gross pimento spread that came in a little glass jar (later used as juice glasses) was always around – not quite sure what they snuck that into? I think it was spread on celery sticks. Eeew. The grownups sit in the kitchen at the table with Grandma & Grandpa. We sit at the “kids table” set up on the patio. Any droppings are taken care of by Chico, their beloved Husky.

What is for dessert, you may be wondering? Only my Grandma’s amazing, world-famous Strawberry Shortcake! We would help her clean and trim the strawberries (that my Grandpa picked up fresh from the farm stand) then she would cut them up into yet another enormous, no doubt, Tupperware, bowl – sprinkle with undetermined amounts of sugar and then into the fridge to chill and meld into the most amazing strawberry topping. She would use those little sponge cake “cups” from Narbonne Market, top with the strawberries and then her amazing, homemade whipped cream. To this day, strawberry shortcake takes me back to 1967 and a warm summer day on Doria Ave. in Lomita. The strawberries are so cold and fresh and sweet and I love the way the syrupy juice makes the sponge cake all soggy. Grandpa loved to serve up Dad’s or Hire’s Root Beer from a big jug; all of us kids stood in line with our pimento spread juice glass or jewel toned/opaque ice-textured cups (you know, those cups from the 60’s). Grandpa would make homemade ice cream and we would all take turns turning the crank on the ice cream maker as he kept the rock salt coming. Root Beer floats are the best in summer!!!!



After dinner, we all run around like maniacs outside playing hide & seek, red light/green light, riding bikes, or being entertained by June & Julie and the Gulizia boys with our own neighborhood Improv Theatre. They would put together the greatest, funniest “skits” to perform for us kids. Our claim to entertainment fame being that Ricky Gulizia went into acting and was on an episode of Bewitched! Now THAT was big time. He took on the stage name of Richard Powell (yuck) and was in the episode where Tabitha turned the man in the toy store back into a little boy (remember it?) Ricky played the young boy. It was so cool seeing our childhood playmate on our beloved Bewitched.



As the sun starts to fade…… the anticipation builds. Grandpa starts setting up his pyrotechnic theatre by backing his truck next to the driveway and opening the tailgate. I remember watching this ritual half excited beyond belief … and half scared out of my wits. I wasn’t a big fan of the loud stuff. Out comes the “big box.” The Block Party assortment included all of the staples like sparklers, snakes (little tablets that you light with your punk and they grow into long, curling, gray, foamy looking snakes that smell wonderfully and horrifically like TAR), Smokey Joe (little cardboard man with a “cigar” in his mouth that you light and it just sends huge plumes of smoke all around and is just obnoxious and awesome), Piccolo Pete’s (that you would hear for days before and days after the 4th) – and it also had some of the bad boys like bottle rockets (yes, legal), pinwheels that you nail to the neighbors’ tree (usually the Dickens’ across the street – wouldn’t want all of the debris to fall in OUR yard!), big strands of firecrackers… you name it!



All of us kids would excitedly collect our fireworks stand purchases and get ready for the big show. We would all gather in the driveway and on the front lawn and just watch the street light up with one spectacular, glittery, whistling, spinning display after another! We would have so much fun “playing with matches” and lighting our snakes and sparklers – they only burn a little when the little sparkles land on your hand and arm. The boys would chase us with the glowing, molten metal stick that remained. Ah, those were the days.

Once Grandpa was about 3/4 the way through his supply, he would call to Grandma, “Olive! Go get that bag in my top drawer!” Yes, the contraband. Probably procured through one of his “Poker Buddies”, out came a little, crumpled brown bag filled with Cherry Bombs and a few M-80’s! I freaking hated those things. As if the firecrackers were not loud enough – being lit 25 or 30 at a time – those damn Cherry Bombs were so LOUD. He had a ton of those and just a few of the M-80’s which were ridiculous. A lot of times I would hide INSIDE one of the cars in the driveway to avoid the noise. Blowing up a coffee can was usually the finale for the night along with a few Roman Candles – which was, essentially, a freaking BLOW TORCH with pretty candy stripes. Ah, those were the days.



Then the “un-fun” clean up would ensue and we would play in the street until late in the night. I remember, on more than one occasion, the police would come driving down the cul de sac on Doria Ave. and tell our parents that we were breaking curfew (we had to be inside by 10PM). We were just having so much fun laughing and playing and running wild in the street.

So, the 4th of July is again upon us and we all have new rituals and traditions in our grownup world. I become a kid again every year at this time as I remember the official start of summer – and all the wonderful memories of summer vacation … the feel of the soft, warm breeze coming through the bedroom window, the smell of the peaches, apricots, and plums on the trees in our yard, yummy, sweet sun tea in frozen mugs, fresh avocadoes from our trees mashed on buttered toast, Thrifty ice cream cones after a day at the beach, swimming in the ocean when it’s almost dark, sunburns and Sun-In (hair lightener), watching soap operas, the Mike Douglas Show, spending a week at Grandma’s, using Grandpa’s t-shirts as a night shirt, waking up to her pancake breakfast and the smell of bacon and eggs wafting down the hall, a “Good Morning, Mary Sunshine” song from Grandpa, doing her dusting for her and listening to country music (and Donny Osmond) records, the occasional camping trip – Bass Lake, Yosemite, trips to the Ranch Club for swimming, horseback riding, ranch style dinners and Square Dancing…. all of us kids enjoying those long, leisurely summer days.



Looking forward to the weekend and the magic of 4th of July. May your holiday be filled with friends, family, good BBQ, magical fireworks, memories of summer days gone by..... L O V E and P E A C E.



Paula

[grasswire]

1. very nice

I feel nostalgic, too. Fourth of July was huge in my big extended family. The grandparents had left New England in 1924 with their six kids -- left New England for the Pacific Northwest after three hundred years of family residence there. Eventually there were third generation kidlets coming along -- eventually 15 cousins for me.

I have really strong memories of the Fourth in that family setting. I remember Uncle Bob, a WW2 hero, piling some of us cousins in the back of his Cadillac and driving us to the firework stand for more stuff. I remember the song that was playing on the car radio -- "Blue Tango."

I remember holding a roman candle -- yes, kids did hold roman candles in their hands! Standing out in the unpaved street, watching the fireballs sail up into the sky.

And I remember the feasting. New England baked beans. Watermelon, watermelon. Hot dinner rolls, in July! Ice cream and cakes.

Most of my cousins still live within 30 miles of me. But nobody gets together except once a year at the holidays. I find that very sad. I miss the happy gang.

[JuniperLea]

3. We could be cousins...

My family started in the same area at the same time with the arrival of my 11th great grandmother. They took the move west in 100 year increments, with some of the last five generations remaining in the midwest. We are only three generations born in CA. Great granny had 15 kids, with 13 going on to raise very large families themselves. We try to have a big family reunion every five years or so, numbering 200 - 300... we usually hold it in a very large park.

But I really do miss the scenes my sister describes. It's good to reminisce.

Thanks for sharing your memories!

[luv_mykatz]

2. Great post, great memories.

thank you for sharing this.

What I like about the 4th: it is a nation-wide giant party. Such fun.

Wishing everyone a fun, and safe, 4th of July. :toast: :grouphug:

[JuniperLea]

4. Yes! One massive party, coast to coast! Well said!

That really is what makes it special... like a communion.

:toast:

[JuniperLea]

5. Hic!

Hiccup! Dupe!

[applegrove]

6. We celebrate July 1 in Canada. I remember going to Parliament Hill with my cousins and

standing in the rain as Pasty Gallant sang "I'm a star in NY, I'm a star in LA". It was so much fun to get drenched. And then the fireworks.