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July 4, 2011

4th of july memories

I remember the 4th of July at home.... watching fireworks ,sitting on top of shed we would sit on top and from a distance could see the Amboy fireworks which was about 3 -5 miles away
 Amboy also had a carnival going and we knew it! Sometimes dad would drop us off at the carnival  during the day time ...you could buy rides 5 for 1.00 cents back then..tilt-a-whirl that would make my sister, Karen,  puke( watch out below after cotton candy and caramel apples !) , Ferris wheel , merry go round, spook house, Carney games that I remember ducks on the water, bottle/ring toss, balloon/dart games ect..usually could win something pretty good..I came home with a glittered chalk ware Kewpie doll once...sure wish I had it now ! oh those prizes were so gaudy though!  There was always an opportunity to win a piece of depression glass (some of which subsequently became known as "carnival glass"), a clock or a Kewpie doll or some other form of chalk ware   to carry around and to show off to   friends  . This is before the stuffed animal became the popular carnival prize. All varieties of carnival chalk ware were sometimes called Kewpie dolls while there was an actual Kewpie doll. I remember wining an Indian one quite similar to this one. It got broken within a week. chalk ware was very fragile!



When we were younger, the folks would take us down to the old woods my grandpa once owned.  The family used this land for picnics ,fishing, hunting ect..until it was sold years later. There was a small stream running through the land and had a great swim hole. My brother learned to swim there...saying he was thrown into the water and told to paddle and swim, which   he did! 

 Mom used to have to pick the blood suckers from our toes..but we didn't mind..the swim hole was a favorite spot!. Dad would make a bonfire and when just right  he would fry fish and potatoes  in this big cast iron skillet he had made at the foundry( The green river ordinance made shell casings during the war) I can't remember the  time driving home...we played so hard, mom said we were asleep in the car before we would reach the house. These are wonderful memories of our childhood..also dad usually had some sparklers and fire crackers for us  , and these paper  streamers you could whirl around.I think they were called whirlings and would make a fluttering noise  as you twirled around with them.
When we got to be in our teens, the carnival was the big thing and replaced going to the woods with mom and dad .( actually I doubt mom minded that too much..can't imagine the work it was for her to take a  family to the woods, but I for one, appreciate the memories!  We were  blessed!  do you have some fond memories to share of  4th of july celebrations to share? 

 Helen adds..."The memories of the 4th of July at the Green River and dad frying potatoes over a fire; the blood suckers, etc. etc. Janines post about the Holly Hock; my girls loved making the dolls also and Mom had beautiful ones. I finally got a hollyhock to grow by my front door; guess what? the Japenese beetles attacked every year and I finally had to get rid of it . Bees and bugs would be flying all over the place, by the front steps. Thank goodness Mom never had Japenese beetles; we had lots of flowers to play with while growing up. Do you remember how we played flower shop in front of the garage. Mom had some pretty purple weeds that we used and probably some of her flowers too. Fruit jars were our vases, we had a wood plank on saw horses for our counter. The "swimmers" brought back memories of how our kids loved to play in the water and a water slide we had when Tammy and Terry were little.".


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