Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Fourth of July Memories

My earliest memories of the Fourth of July are of spending time in Bristol, RI at my great-aunt Kitty’s house with extended family. Although I was very young and do not remember much I do know that the parade, (the oldest continuous 4^th of July parade in the U.S.) and spending time with family were the highlights of the day.

Family at a 4th of July Parade. (Not sure if it is Bristol)

Then one year my parents bought a pop-up tent trailer! Weekends and vacations from that point on were spent exploring New England, the Northeast, and the Southeast including Florida!  My mother would spend the weeks prior to our vacation packing everything a family of four and the family cat needed for two weeks of camping in a pop-up camper. 

The pop-up and the red Volvo!

On the Fourth of July we would take part in the holiday activities of the community we were visiting. My parents especially enjoyed attending local church ham and bean suppers, and we frequented many throughout the years. Sometimes there would be a carnival, where I would insist on riding the teacups until I got sick. Wherever our family was on the Fourth, from the Adirondacks to St. Augustine, the culmination of the Fourth of July holiday was always watching spectacular fireworks displays on my mother’s fringed green and blue plaid woolen blanket!