When the Fourth of July became 'Victory Day'

ASHE COUNTY — The holiday known as the Fourth of July has been celebrated in this country since the Founding Fathers of this nation made the bold move to declare independence from the Royal Family of England in 1776. Although it was not a unanimous movement, by any means, with one third of the non-Native American population of the North American continent for the revolution, one third of the citizenry staying true to King George III, and the last third staying neutral to see which side would prevail.

While the fledgling United States of America was happy with its achievement and was working to consolidate its status as a new nation, the British troops would regroup and try to quell the rebellion one more time with the War of 1812, but did not succeed.

Eventually, as things settled down, the Fourth of July became an official holiday, celebrated with official gatherings and yearly speeches by untold amounts of politicians, and with picnics and activities all culminating with a fireworks display of some kind after dark.

There was a year, however, when Ashe County did not celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks or the usual frivolity, when many folks did not get a day off from work, and even when the name of the holiday was referred to with a different title.

When one researches past issues of The Skyland Post newspaper, which was published in Ashe County by Nancy Ruth Reeves beginning in 1931, you get a glimpse of life here in the High Country that was reported in real time, in the moment, without hindsight or historical revisionism. When you look for articles on how the Fourth of July was celebrated here, you find an edition of The Skyland Post printed in July of 1942 that speaks of the drastic change to the holiday’s activities.

Just one year earlier, in the July 3, 1941, edition of The Skyland Post, the large headline that ran across the top of page one read, “Expect Large Crowd To Attend July Fourth Celebration — Big Program To be Featured In County on Friday.”

In the article, the list of events set to happen on the 1941 July Fourth holiday held at Riverview School included a speech by the former Governor of North Carolina Cameron Morrison, a series of concerts throughout the day played by the A. S. T. C. band, a cafeteria style dinner was to be served by the “ladies of the New River school district,” and more fun and remembrance. And, as the article states, “All business houses, stores and offices will be closed the entire day in the county.”

Sports were also a part of the Independence Day lineup back then, including, “various contests for men, women and children conducted during the morning.” The competitions on the schedule featured, “foot races, jumping contests, hole climbing, rolling pin throwing, hog calling, horse shoe pitching and so on.” All of that was followed by a baseball game between Jefferson and Crumpler at 3:30 p.m. in the afternoon.

The day-long events were sponsored by an organization called the Laurel Grange and the holiday’s proceeds were admirably set to be used “for the benefit of the proposed new agriculture department at the Riverview School.”

At the same time, however, the news of the day on July 3, 1941, was ominous as the reality of the beginning of World War II was evident in the articles found in the paper. On page four, there is an editorial about the Fourth of July holiday stating that, “with democracy being threatened and challenged on all sides, it seems to us that such celebrations are even more appropriate than ever before.” The treatise continued, saying, “despite the critical situation existing throughout the world today, everyone must admit that the business conditions in Ashe County and all over the United States is good, the farmer is getting comparatively high prices for his products, every manufacturing plant in the nation is humming at a top speed, and every person who wants a job can get one.”

One year later, in 1942, the approach to the Fourth of July holiday had changed. This was due to the U.S. being attacked by the Japanese forces at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, with our country now officially in World War II.

In the July 2, 1942, edition of The Skyland Post, an advertisement by the First National Bank in Ashe County touts the theme of that day of also referring to the name Independence Day as Victory Day, saying, “We will not celebrate with fire-crackers, as Uncle Sam needs all of the gunpowder it can get, or with long trips, as we need to save both gas and tires, but we do celebrate the day with resolve to work harder to end the war and bring about victory so that we and those that come after us may enjoy the independence for which the heroes of the past have fought and died.”

The article headlines in that 1942 edition of The Skyland Post speak volumes, with articles written with titles that said, “The Ashe County Fair This Year Called Off Due To War,” “Industry Cannot Have A Holiday on July 4th,” “America Sets Record For Building Ships,” “Thousands of Gas Pumps Pumped Dry,” “Plenty of Sugar For Home Canning,” “Autoists Told To Prepare For Walking,” “New Bus Line Opened In Ashe County That Extends From West Jefferson to Trade, Tennessee Via Warrensville,” “FBI Nabs Spies That landed On East Coast In Submarine,” “M-3 Tanks Tested and Ready For Battle,” “Continued Drive For Scrap Rubber and New Salvage Drive For Material Opens On July 13,” “Many Register For The Draft In Ashe County,” and “Nazis Pressing On To Alexandria As Japanese In Bengal Bay Sink Ship.”

Currently, in 2024, as we celebrate the Fourth Of July 82 years later, there is a war currently raging in Europe once again, another one being fought in the Middle East and more strife found elsewhere. What the above newspapers of the day show us is that life in the U.S. can change quickly from one year to the next.