Share a memory of July 4th's past and win a Patriot Barlow
I know I'm not the only one with great memories of the 4th of July holiday, so here's a little bonus for one of you dedicated blog readers over this holiday weekend. Take a minute and share a favorite 4th of July memory or what the 4th of July means to you and I'll draw one your names for a brand new, in the tube, 1 of just19 serialized 253208J Patriot knives. Get it in before midnite CST Tuesday July 4, 2011.
Posted by Greg at 7/3/2011 8:06 AM 
Categories: Contest and Drawings, Admin Comments
Tags: 4th of July patriot
Categories: Contest and Drawings, Admin Comments
Tags: 4th of July patriot
Seems like years ago, witnessing the grandest fireworks display was the focus of the holiday. After hearing about the large display at Lake Tahoe, we decided to rent a cabin and head up to the lake. It took about 3 times longer to drive there than normal, (We were not alone in this venture). The cabin was too far from the lake to see it properly, so we drove 2 miles to shores of the lake to be able to see the display. It was pretty warm when we got there, but later after dark when the fireworks were about to start, it was freezing cold. The display was great, and after it was over, everyone left the beach at the same time. It took over an hour to drive the 2 miles back to the cabin in bumper to bumper traffic. Since then, not a single one of us has expressed a desire to repeat the adventure.
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When I think of the 4th of July I think of things that matter most in life - God, country & family. It is a time to remember also our country's struggle for independence and the men and women who made and continue to make our freedom possible. For me, it brings back memories of when I was a kid and going to a nearby park in the town of Lombard, Illinois and watching fireworks after a family cookout. Sitting on a blanket or on one of my relatives shoulders to get a better view of the much anticipated action. But after living in Chicago, Illinois, the state of W.Va., Knoxville, TN and now in Orlando, Florida one of my favorite 4th of July memories was going to watch fireworks in the small town of Currie, MN (population 233) in the southwest corner of the state. I have seen spectacular fireworks in many states and at the theme parks here in Orlando over the years but one of my favorite displays was in Currie a decade or so ago. My wife, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and I sat on blankets on a big open lawn near a church and a school and watched the fireworks in celebration of our country's independence. For such a small town they had a magnificent display, equal to that, in my opinion, of cities one hundred or even one thousand times it's size. It was not jam packed, like some of the fireworks displays that I have been to in bigger cities, so we could relax and spread out our blankets and watch other families and their children enjoy each other's company and the show. By virtue of the town's size, many people knew each other and their kids could play together without worries. Some day maybe we could have kids and could return with them, I thought. I was envious of the residents of Currie and other places like it in typical rural small town America. These people had figured it out and had it made in my opinion. Our experience there was reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting or something similar. We were so close to the fireworks display that we all had ashes or pieces of paper wrappers from the fireworks in our hair and on our clothes. The fireworks that day were great but the time spent with family was what made it really special. My wife and I look back fondly on that 4th of July - her mom passed away several years later and is no longer with us. Spending time with family - immediate family and extended family and friends - has become the thing that burns brighter and more vividly in my memory than any firework display. I hope to continue our family tradition of being together for the 4th of July and to create memories for our children that THEY will look back upon fondly some day. Maybe we can all return to Currie some day too!
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Greg,
What a great idea this is.
When I was younger I always envied the 4th of July celebrations we would see on TV. The towns with decorations and parades, the county fairs. You know television, they are going to show the grandest spectacular celebrations they can find, and when you really do only have one station (sponsored by the US military) there is not a lot of variation.
As a adult looking back, the last 4th of July spent on foreign soil shines when this holiday comes around. The far east and a small island in the Philippines in 1968 doesn’t seem the place or time where you would bring your family but Dad insisted that we all be together as he had been gone for the previous 2 on tour without us. As you can imagine, not a lot of families were there. Mostly just “the guys”. That was how a small girl of 8 in a sea of young military men saw them all and every one of them carried a knife. My brothers called them by rank but they were just the guys to me. When the only boy scout troop goes camping on the 4th of July on the Baton trail, those young men all step up to help out. The troop mom (dad was the leader) not having anyone to watch a girl just brings her along when she joins them the second night on the trail.
Now everyone has to have a buddy and a young eagle scout was probably not thrilled that his buddy was yours truly but he is, in my memory always there with me for that 4th. The boys had hiked the first two days, had adventures due to young men hiking the jungles and the 4th of July was a day spent enjoying the time togeather, the small lake and earning badges. The younger ones had to learn to light and extinguish fires safely in the jungle. We all received jungle training appropriate to our ages, knife safety and care, where the creepy crawleys hide, how to prepare food found in the jungle and it was the first time (probably the last also) I ever held a python. My buddy earned his lifesaving badge out at the lake and all the volunteers made sure that each young man earned the badge he set out for on that trip. At 4pm the American flag comes down in full ceremony just as if we were on the base but the Boyscouts are lowing it and playing the bugle. After hotdogs cooked on sticks and smores with fire roasted marshmallows we all crawled into our canvas tents, after checking for those creepy crawleys the had taught us to look for.
For those unaware, the rainy season in that part of the tropics starts in June. Yep, you guessed it…a monsoon complete with flash flooding. Imagine being one of the adults trying to get 14 young men, the troop mom and one very wet young girl to the security shelter. This is where the buddy system comes into play. Everyone knows, we have practiced the drill, find your buddy and meet the leaders… TOGEATHER. Well someone should have told mom that because when the rain started she picked me up and put me in the back seat of her car. Then she set about being the team mom and making su
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If you click on reply you can read the rest. Sorry did not think I was this long winded
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Then she set about being the team mom and making sure everyone was safe and secure. As the water began to rise I can only image the urgency the adults were feeling and in typical military fashion they were reviewing lists of personnel and checking it twice. Mom says they got to my buddy and he was not answering roll. So Dad and another Sergeant head out in search. They find my buddy with my wet bedroll searching tents and hollering my name, while I sit quietly in the car watching the rescue mission, with everyone accounted for they all settle down to what must have been a wet and miserable night for the adults. My brothers certainly have fond memories of ghost stories, jungle stories and the like told on that bus that night. The next morning brought about clean up, breakfast, more clean up and stories of my hero buddy from the night before. You can imagine the razzing he took from those boys.
That next Wednesday night when the troop gathered in the base school gym, all the boys received the badges and awards they had earned on that trip. At the end of the ceremony there was a surprise for the tag along on that trip. My hero buddy awarded me one of the highest honors I will ever hold. I was made an honorary member of that little boy scout troop on Clark Airbase and had the privilege of going on all the campouts with them after that.
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As I approach this particular Fourth of July, I do so with a new son in tow. He's three weeks old now and I have been taking stock of just such memories over the last 5 months (since I learned he would be He.) At 5 my father, Steve in WV to the good folks of this blog, taught me the three B's; Burgers on sliced bread, the BiCentenial and Bottle Rockets.
1976 found us driving up to South Charleston to see the BiCentenial train that had traveled the country with it's decked out freight cars and museum displays. I was in complete awe of the whole spectacle. He gave me a model train version of the engine that Christmas that I still have today. We continued up the Kanawha Valley to downtown Charleston where, like every year for many years, we would sit on the river bank and watch the huge fireworks show. Reds, yellows, purples, greens, the smell of black powder all burned into the back of my eyes and nose. We never missed it, my Father made sure of that.
We'd get home and he'd spend an hour digging through the back of the garage, banging and cursing as he looked for the brick of bottle rockets that he had stashed from the previous year's trip to Myrtle Beach. A tall glass 7up bottle and an old box of Strike-Anywhere Matches from when he had stopped smoking Marlboros the year before and we were in business. The exhilaration I felt striking matches, watching for the fuse to spark and running like hell was only matched by one last rocket going haywire and landing in a neighbor's backyard. We finished the evening putting out a small compost heap fire and feeling lucky that the homeowners were on vacation out of state.
So July 4th always reminds me of all of the things my father has taught me over my 40 years. All of those things I look forward to passing on to my son. All of the opportunities to see him light matches and wait for sparks with Grandpa.
Thanks Dad.
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Thank you, son, for remembering. You were just shy of four years old at the time. So that huge red, white and blue steam engine with flags waving and twenty or so display cars trailing the engine, must have made quiet an impression...it did on me too. The 1975-76 Bi-Centennial Freedom Train, of course, celebrated the 200th anniversary of our Nation. It was our city's good fortune that the Freedom Train pulled into town the week before the 1976 July 4 celebration, and therefore became a part of the local Independence Day festivities. There were all kinds of gismos and gadgets on display, even a lunar rover...200 years of America's past, painted in red, white and blue, and touring by rail ....great stuff for little boys and big guys too.
As much as I love the fireworks displays, that train took the prize. There's not been a July 4, more memorable, before or since.
As for setting the neighbors compost pile on fire, if you will recall we never set off any more air born fireworks after that year...at least not in the neighborhood.
And as to my grandson...when he's old enough to light a match and giggle, we'll introduce him to my antique carbide cannon. And in 2026, on the 250th anniversary of the founding of our great country, maybe the train will come to town again and we will take him to see it.
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I come from a small family that has few traditions. Since I have young kids and parents in the area, we have tried to start a few traditions. For us the 4th is about family. We spend the afternoon at my parents, grilling and swimming. Over the years my kids have gone from wading, to needing floaties, to now learning to swim, we finish the night with dinner and watch the fireworks on Capitol Fourth. It isn't much of atradition, but it works for us. It's been fun been fun watching the kids grow up and spending time with the parents. I guess, again, it is about family for us. My wife and I own our businesses. We work hard. We seldom get time off. It is nice to unwind and spend time with family.
Happy Independence Day to all.
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This all makes me think of my very first pocket knife.It was my 8th Birthday. I was an active young fella,and a member of the Cub Scouts. One of the gifts I received for my 8th Birthday was a Cub Scout Pocket Knife. It was made by Camillus,and Had the Blue Jigged Handles and Golden Cub Scout Inlay Shield. It was a fine knife for a growing boy,and I was proud of it.But,as many young people do,I had a lot to learn about the safe handling of pocket cutlery. This knife was no toy! I made it about an hour before the knife blade closed on my finger,giving me a pretty nasty cut.Of course I had been doing something the knife wasn't made for.Digging in the dir. Mom cried,Dad asked me "Did you learn anything?" and I answered "I sure did!." Now you may be wondering what all this has to do with the 4th of July? You see that birthday was 49 years ago today. I was born on the 4th of July.
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This topic reminds me of my first pocket knife. It was my 8th Birthday.I was an active young man,and I was a member of our local Cub Scout Pack.For my 8th birthday,I received a Cub Scout pocket knife. It was a Camillus,with the blue jigged handles and the golden Cub Scout Emblem inlay shield.Like most kids mt age,I still had a lot to learn about handling pocket cutlery. It took about an hour,and I had a nasty cut on my finger from doing something the knife was never meant to do. I had been digging in the dirt and the blade folded up on my finger!Mom cried,Dad said "Did you learn anything?" I replied"You bet I did!" Now you might wonder what all this has to do with the 4th of July. This all happened 49 years ago today. The 4th of July is my Birthday.
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Hey Bob, Happy B-day!!!
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Well, the witching hour is approaching. By now everyone's got a good sunburn, the heartburn from too much lunch is starting to let up in time for supper and in Minnesota we're less than 5 hours till show time!!! Actually, last nite we had 4 or 5 neighbors put on displays that rival a lot of small town fireworks displays and tonite, there'll be more. I think we'll launch our pontoon around 10:00PM with a cool beverage and drift around to watch the goin's on. 85F and sunny here today and a low tonite of 67F so by 10:00 we should be around 75F. Perfect!!! Seems like just a week ago I was complaining about the weather but oh what a difference a few days can make up here. Let's keep a few more stories rolling in until show time! This has been great.
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I manage a resort in MN now but grew up in northern KS by Lovewell State park. I remember the annual gathering during the 70's. All of the neighbors, with in 10 miles, and relatives coming to my folks house, 29 miles to the nearest stop light, to have the big fish fry, tapping the the keg of 'coors' for the adults and kids sneaking a cup after dark. Then the lighting of the fireworks with all the kids saying "let me do this one" as times were a little tight and each shower cone or rocket was greeted with applause by all. Then the pies and homemade ice cream came out, most the time the ice cream was half melted as temps in KS at dark were in the 90's but is was cold enough for the event.
Thanks for the idea Greg, have a good 4th.
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The 4th of July was always been a holiday my uncle Will was known for. Days ahead of time he head out and get everything bought and prepared. He'd have a list on how everything would go, his grand finale was unrivaled. It was something special he did just for the family. We lost him a few years ago to a heart infection, it tore the familie's united heart out.
When the 4th of July rolled around we were all at a loss, but we knew he would want us to acknowledge it. That night, every family member went out a lit at least one firecracker for Uncle Will. It was a good memory of a great man that had a big affect in my life.
Years have now passed and we try again, and again to get that 4th of July magic that Will had, but we never truly get there, and part of me hopes we never do. We just finished lighting off all the fireworks a little while ago, it was a good year for everyone.I enjoyed having a GEC in my hand when things needed opened, it cut to perfection.
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Well I missed out, I had a story and I tried to submit it, but no luck. Great stories guys, and God Bless Greg, he helps to make these knives interesting.
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Obviously not an entry...
I forgot a funny July 4th. The second 4th with my wife was the first with my son. He was ten months old. We lived in Virginia Beach. We had a one year old Scottish Terrier, Angus (still have him, too). We took our son and Scottie to the beach. Angus chased the waves while we dipped our sons toes in the water. It was beautiful. We went home and had a snack....Doritos. We then had a grilled chicken and blackberry salad. We hunkered down for some movies. Unfortunately, our apartment was across the interstate from Mt. Trashmore where the local fireworks were being shot off. The fireworks going off rocked the apartment so much it was like being in Sarajevo. To make matters worse, the blackberries must have been bad and we had food poisoning. My wife and spent the night alternating cradling our son, petting Angus, and running to the bathroom. I used to love Doritos. I used to love blackberries. I haven't eaten either since.
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