FIREWORKS ON JULY FOURTH

By Richard Drake,
Guest Writer

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"HEY, BOB....IS THAT A ROCKET IN YOUR POCKET?!"
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FIREWORKS ON JULY FOURTH



My favorite memory of the Fourth of July in Clovis was one year with my friend, Bob Snipes.   As I remember it, Clovis City Management had curtailed the use of sky rockets in the downtown area.  That offered a challenge to two seventeen year old boys.  Somehow Bob had learned how to make delayed burning fuses by soaking knitting yarn in salt peter. After it dried the yarn would burn at a fixed rate.  By cutting off the right length, we could set the time of launch for our Roman candle rockets.  After much strategic planning, the rockets were placed at different spots up and down Main Street in placed in the alleys and beside the stores.  It was easy to light fuses of the rockets and drive to our viewing place in front of the State Theater.  It was great fun to watch the police race to the site of each launching and find no one there and, immediately, another rocket would explode at the other end of Main. This continued for several minutes.  Of course, we knew nothing when we were approached by the officers asking if we had seen anyone.  We had been standing there throughout the time and they were our witnesses.

            The evening ended on the Eugene Field outdoor basketball court.  Bob and I engaged each other in a duel with hand held 10 ball roman candles rockets.  It was not dangerous because the balls of fire were easily evaded. The basketball court was a perfect place since we did not have to worry about a grass fire.  As we were ending our play duel, Bob aimed his last shot at the backboard.  It bounced back toward him and he did not move fast enough.  The fire ball landed in the pocket of his shirt and set off a package of lady finger fire crackers that he was carrying in the pocket. Of course the package was open and ready to light. I have never seen anyone rip a shirt off as fast as Bob.  He did have a hole in his brand new shirt and a ripped pocket as well as two or three missing buttons. Thankfully he was not burned but his mother had just made the shirt for him. The tough part was he had to tell his Mother.

Everyone has many their memories of fireworks on the fourth of July.  During the time that we lived in Massachusetts we were able to see the gigantic display put on in Boston out over the harbor each year.   We went early so we could  have a large meal of Italian food at a good restaurant in Boston’s North End and still have time to get an excellent vantage point right on the water’s edge.  The fireworks were ignited from a barge out in the water about a hundred yards away.  They appeared to explode right over our heads.  The sounds from the blasts reverberated off of the tall glass buildings just behind us.  They were so loud that it actually hurt our stomachs but it was great entertainment.  We could faintly see the personnel running around on the deck of the barge setting off the rockets.  Afterwards, we had to race to the train station to catch the last ride home.  We barely made it. Probably the heavy Italian food added to our exhaustion.

            Another year our girls and grandsons came for a visit on the fourth.  That year we decided to forgo the train ride into Boston and stay in our local town to watch the highly touted fireworks show.  We received good advice from some of our “old timer” neighbors and positioned ourselves with picnic baskets on a hill side that overlooked the football stadium.  The fireworks were launched from an area just behind the building and they rose high overhead.  We had a perfect viewing point.  What made it so unforgettable was a lightning storm came into view and formed a dramatic backdrop.  It was amazing to see the fireworks explode while surrounded by bolts of lightning.  It went on for almost an hour and we had no rain. After the show it was a very short drive home to get the boys to bed.

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FOR MIL'S
By Richard Drake,
CHS Class of '53

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