Fourth of July with Janette: Boat Rides, Cousins, and Aunt Nina’s Laughter
A fun story that is not included in the manuscript
Independence Day on the Fairley farm
Hello, my dear tribe of readers
Publishing day is approaching, and my book is scheduled for publication at the end of September.
Since it's July 4th, I thought you might enjoy this story, which was not included in the manuscript. I remember Aunt Nina’s laughter, and I'm tickled by this story Mom told me. It didn’t get included in the book, but I still want to share it.
Janette, Helen, and Aunt Nina: Firecrackers, Laughter, and a Fourth to Remember
Janette’s uncles quit fieldwork early on Independence Day. The whole clan would all go for a picnic supper at Riverside Park on old Highway 50 between Yankton and Gayville, along the Missouri River. Janette saw lots of other families also there, enjoying Independence Day. She paid little attention to them because the cousins had such a good time playing together.
One year, when Russell was able to be there, someone offered boat rides. They stood in line waiting for a ride; before their turn, Janette had fallen asleep standing next to her dad. All of a sudden, her dad was helping her into the boat. Janette (and the other children) had had a busy day. They got up early to welcome the 4th of July. They ran around lighting firecrackers and playing with their cousins all day long.
On another Independence Day, Janette, Helen, and their cousin Bob Minehart were the only children at Grandma’s house. Bob was the second born of Sybil and Paul, and he was the same age as Gordon. They had a great time lighting firecrackers. Dogs try to escape the noise and either run off or hide somewhere. Vern’s dog, Duke, invariably hid.
Janette, a little skittish about fireworks, always ran a short distance after she lit a firecracker, even a ladyfinger, a tiny firecracker. Once, Janette lit a ladyfinger by the garage gate and scurried but tripped a short distance away. Aunt Nina saw it and laughed.
On July 5, the children still had some leftover firecrackers. Helen found an empty laundry box, a cardboard Brillo box. She put her extra firecrackers in that Brillo box for safekeeping. These firecrackers were somewhat stronger than ladyfingers.
Later, while Aunt Nina did the housework, she gathered up all burnable garbage like papers, cardboard, and other waste items that could burn. Nina threw the burnable garbage into the kitchen range fire. (People didn’t recycle or have a garbage service to take trash away— they burned it.)
Pop, pop, pop noises rang from the range, much louder than the sound of corn popping and more like gunshots. Helen worried that her popping firecrackers, which were much stronger than ladyfingers, would damage the stove. And she wondered if Aunt Nina would be upset about it. But soon, everyone in the house, children and adults, laughed. Helen enjoyed it more than if she had lit each of her firecrackers separately.
If you have any stories about July 4th on the Fairley family farm (or elsewhere), I’d love to hear them.
Yours,
Naomi
Oh my, so funny!! I never heard of lady fingers! Are those the tiny striped fireworks??
Alice says: I loved the Fourth of July story. We often went to our Dad's sister's or brother’s farms on the 4th because we could shoot fireworks legally. We would bring ice, and my aunt would make ice cream with raspberries from her garden.