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Show nmmsmh CLAUDE'S by Claude Orton This week I am going back to the old days, when On' the Fourth cf July there was a parade featuring only horse-drawn floats (no cars); entered by the various organizations, or-ganizations, mostly business and church, more of the latter, a few civic and school. It would travel around the LDS church block. Once I remember remem-ber a comic float put in the parade by Winston Orton and Dave Barton dressed as clowns. It drew more attention from the kids than all the rest of the floats put together WHEN the meeting following follow-ing the parade, held in the church would fill that place to capacity. WHEN the high school or before that, the town band, we did have one, would be in the parade and at the public meeting to fill the air with martial music. They played real marches, some of Sousa's best, as well as others, and not the concert music of today. to-day. Music teachers in those days played real band music, not Mendelsohn, Schubert or Beethoven; the orchestra play-them, play-them, if they got played. WHEN in the afternoon, all would gather on the southwest south-west corner of the city square in the shade of the large circle cir-cle of American elm and locust lo-cust trees, for an afternoon of sports for young and old. And everyone would participate, partici-pate, with the climax being a tug of war between the American Am-erican Legion and Gun and Rod Club men, trying to pull each other through a fiercely driven steam of cold water from a fire hose. WHEN, at night the people would gather for the grand ball, with good music, not noise. In my early experience dancers filled the old "Opera "Op-era House", then Jack Peterson's Peter-son's pavilion on 100 East St., dancing to the Melody Five or the Harmony Four, or the Peerless Players, featuring the trumpet of our own Orwin IDob) Orton. Later dance em- jporiams were Sunday Mun-dy's Mun-dy's "Blue Lantern" pavilion, j on Main Street sandwiched in between the Green Drug store and Sam Whitney's blacksmith shop and later at the "Brown Derby".. And the young folks also had their day, with a children's chil-dren's dance, either at the Opera Op-era House of the old Rex Hall, during the afternoon. WHEN Oh, oh, we forgot. for-got. The early morning salute wasn't furnished by dynamite caps and a piece of a stick of i that stuff. Members of the I Whitney Family furnished the blasts from anvils, two, one on I top of the other, using black-powder, black-powder, and a long rod of red hot steel. First it was the two elder Whitneys, New and Eli, the senior town blacksmiths, then their sons, Sam and Will, belonging to New S., and Blanche, son of Eli Whitney. Blanche is the only survivor, but is still going strong. WHEN, going on all day long was the crack of firecrackers, fire-crackers, held, thrown or stood on by the young people. But this was too dangerous and the lawmakers took the firecrackers fire-crackers away from us and reduced it to caps and sparklers, spark-lers, but no firecrackers until you can get to Las Vegas. The lawmakers outlawed fire crackers and gave us firewater firewa-ter and 400 horsepower cars. WHEN, a fire during the sports on a July Fourth afternoon, after-noon, starting in a patch of dry June grass, destroyed the sheds at the rear of the Parowan Paro-wan Merc, started, not by a firecracker, but by a sparkler spark-ler thrown by a small child into a patch of dry June grass. Now, while we are on June grass, let me tell you it really makes a hot, fierce fire when properly dried, tall and thick. There was a big patch growing grow-ing along the south side of the Third Ward Church, on June 17, 1923, before grass was planted there. It was tall, thick and dry; it was a nice warm afternoon with sacra-mont sacra-mont meeting almost over as two teenagers came up the street, looked in the door and then went around south of the building. It seemed both boys gut the same idea at. the samp time, both struck matches, tossed them into thi? gr.iss: Result the closing prayer by F. C. Van Buren was half said and the meeting let out. If you don't think the June grass took off, Just ask Claude Orton Or-ton and Claude Matheson. |