Independence Day celebrations are wrapping up this weekend with many families gathering Saturday and Sunday rather than on the actual July 4 holiday Thursday due to work restrictions, travel distances, county fair obligations and more.
For 33 years, I lived in front of the Prospect Park and enjoyed watching members of the fire department and Lions Club along with other volunteers set up the night before in preparation for crowds often estimated to hit the 10,000 mark in attendance throughout the day with the majority being in the early evening. The firefighters began cooking hundreds of chicken halves just before 8 a.m. and continued throughout the day.
Lions Club members cooked their famous hamburgers and hundreds of volunteers worked a “shift” in the main eats building where one could find potato salad, Cole slaw, baked beans and a variety of homemade pies and cakes. I baked three or four pies from scratch every year to donate. They were often cherry pies if the cherries on my tree were ripe enough to pick. If not, they were usually apple pies.
Fond memories except for the people who kept trying to park in our yard and we had to run them off. My husband was very meticulous about the yard so even though we strung police or caution tape along the side street, people still tried to pull in to park.
A wedding shock, plant health and 'Little Mermaid'
I attended an outdoor wedding June 29. It was rather warm, so I decided to wear a sleeveless dress. I had a medical procedure the day before and knew the dress would be more comfortable at the surgical site. To say I was shocked when I arrived and saw the attire on other attendees would be an understatement.
Other than the bride, her attendants and mother, I believe I was the only other person not in shorts or capris − even the groomsmen. I was told the groomsmen made a mad shopping trip the day before to purchase khaki shorts and ditched their long khaki-colored pants and ties.
For my gardening friends, how are your plants and flowers looking? Between the downpours and extreme heat, it has sure been a guessing game when and how to water. I do know the birds are enjoying the birdbath and fountain on my patio − especially during the heat of the day.
The annual summer musical, "The Little Mermaid," begins next weekend at the Marion Palace Theatre with performances 7:30 p.m. July 13, 19 and 20 and 2 p.m. July 14 and 21.Directed by Clare Cooke, I promise you will think you are at a Broadway show in New York. Clare has the unique ability to get the very best from every performer and the backdrops and scenery will be jaw dropping. I can already hear them singing “Under the Sea." Break a leg cast members.
You can get a sneak preview of the cast at the Sunday (July 7) summer concert at McKinley Park. Cast members will perform as well as the Marionaires, the local barbershop group. Take a chair or blanket and enjoy the music. It begins at 7 p.m. and is free.
Let me leave you with this quotation by Peter Marshall: “May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please but as the opportunity to do what is right.”
Until next week, be safe and be kind.
Brenda Donegan is a former Marion Star staffer. She may be reached at brendadonegan55@gmail.com .
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Just Musing: Celebrating Independence Day and a summer musical
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