Mark's Blog

The 4^th of July still feels like a new holiday to me because for so many years, we were out of the country on the fourth and not with people who celebrated it. Our first eight years of marriage, we were in Germany and the next twenty-five years, we were somewhere in the world on an LST project.

Occasionally during all those summers, we would gather with other Americans for a celebration of the fourth of July.  I remember one summer having a picnic in a beautiful park in Japan with LST teams; another year we met with Dave and Mary Schallert and their boys in Mannheim, Germany, to watch the video-taped baseball All-Star game.  They were near enough to American forces in Germany to get American Forces Network (AFN) TV.

But celebrating the fourth in another country is just not the same.  Take fireworks displays for instance.  We have often made it a point to be in Hanover, Germany, for the great firework contests that were held in Herrnhausen Gardens, part of the former royal estate of the Hanoverian family, which was the family of George III of England who was king during the Revolutionary War—or the War of the Rebellion of the Colonies, as my British friend David referred to it.

Anyway, for many years, three or four countries would compete against each other in Hanover with fireworks displays set to classical music. Handel’s Fireworks Music  from 1749 was often used, of course.  I don’t ever remember hearing Stars and Stripes Forever though—it was beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, but the fourth of July is so much more than that.

Here are some interesting trivia about the fourth of July that you may not know:

• Three U.S. presidents have died on July 4, including two of the founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and John Adams who died within hours of each other on July 4, 1836. The other was James Monroe.
• President Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, and President Zachary Taylor, while celebrating the 4^th of July in 1850, got sick and died five days later from eating bad holiday food.
• Most, if not all of the colonial representatives signed the Declaration of Independence weeks, if not months, after July 4, 1776. John Adams thought July 2, the date the Continental Congress voted to adopt the independence resolution, would become the national holiday.
• Denmark hosts the largest celebration of the 4^th of July outside the United States at Rebild National Park. The Festival was begun here as the result of the park land being donated to the Danish government in honor of Danish Americans.
• The Liberty Bell was probably not rung on July 4, 1776 because the public announcement of independence did not occur until July 8.  It’s connection to July 4^th was created most likely by the publication of a short story in 1847 that fantasized an emotional ringing on the 4^th of July by an old bell-ringer.
• Around 155 million hot dogs will be eaten by Americans on the 4^th of July.
• In 1939, Lou Gehrig, famous NY Yankees first basemen, delivered his “luckiest man on the face of the earth” speech on Lou Gehrig Day at Yankee Stadium. He was the first major leaguer to have his number retired.

And, finally, here is my list of great movies for the family on the 4^th of July, not necessarily in order of preference:

1. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
2. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
3. 1776 (1972)
4. Independence Day (1996)
5. Rocky (1976)
6. John Adams (TV mini series, 2008—one of the best I have ever seen!)
7. Johnny Tremain (1957, great for younger audiences)
8. Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
9. Forest Gump (1994)
10. Miracle (2004)

Well, happy birthday, America! Now quit reading blogs and go have a great day with someone you love!