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| Boy Scouts marching in the parade in the late 1950's. (Scroll down for more photos) |
The annual Independence Celebration is a tradition in Raymond. It is held on Broad Street for three days, usually on or near July 4th. The event is planned and organized by members of the Raymond Fourth of July Association which consists of representatives from American Legion Post #299, the Raymond-Harvel Fire Department, and-Raymond Knights of Columbus Council #4696, along with other volunteers. Other community organizations and individuals also help fund the celebration and make the annual event a success. According to the July 10, 1958 issue of The Raymond News, 1958 marked the first year of the Raymond Independence Celebration as we know it today. According to the report, the American Legion sponsored a parade, fish fry and dance. The parade covered fourteen blocks, and featured the American Legion Color Guard and Rifle Squad consisting of World War II and Korean Veterans, and the Raymond High School band, under the direction of R.C. Jones. It is estimated that 500 people were served at the fish fry.
Prior to the days of the celebration on Broad Street, there are other reports of Independence festivities taking place in and near Raymond. Many people recall one 4th of July celebration that definitely went out with a "bang" at the Everett "Sonny" Glover family farm east of Raymond. On July 4, 1951 the Glover's 1949 Ford Station Wagon was completely destroyed when apparently, a box of aerial bombs on the tail gate of the wagon became ignited and blew up, completely wrecking the car and throwing glass from the windows about 200 feet. No one was seriously injured in the mishap, although one person received a cut lip from the flying glass. A nearby wheat field also caught fire, but was extinguished before much damage was done.
Other references to early Raymond Independence Day Celebrations indicate the city cannon was shot off from under the cottonwood tree.
Today, the Independence Celebration is held on Broad Street and highlighted by the "big" parade, the coronation of Miss Independence and the Little Miss and Mr. Muscle, entertainment, carnival rides, concessions, and the fireworks display. It draws large crowds from Raymond and the surrounding communities.
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I decided to feature Raymond's Independence Day Celebration in this week's blog to coincide with the event that kicked off tonight and goes through Saturday night. This annual event was one of the highlights of the summer when I was growing up, and I have so many great memories of the sights, sounds, and smells from those days.
One thing that sticks out in my memory is the number of people who came to town for the celebration. The parking spaces on the northwest side of Main Street were always full, and it was difficult to find parking on any of the side streets for several blocks. Back then, it was two fun-filled days of eating junk food, riding cheap carnival rides, playing games, running around uptown unsupervised, and watching the Lester Family on the stage. The Kiddie Parade was big, and the big Parade was really big. In addition to the Lincolnwood Band, three or four other marching bands from neighboring towns participated (this was back when each high school marching band had about seventy kids in it). There were also dozens of floats from local businesses and organizations in Raymond and from nearby communities (who can forget the Witt Lions Club float!). Of course there were also tractors and horses, and plenty of politicians. Hundreds of people lined the streets of Raymond for the parade. We always sat in Margie and Louie Krause's yard, and it's nice to know that several of my siblings and some of their kids will be back in the neighborhood at that spot for the parade this Saturday.
I remember walking up Main Street and hearing songs like "Black Betty" by Ram Jam and "Mississippi Queen" by Mountain blasting over and over from the Tilt-A-Whirl. Mom always started in with her warnings about the "carnies" each year in mid-June, and I was forbidden to walk uptown or back home alone when the carnival was in town. This meant I would be forced to carry around the goldfish I won in a small baggie, trying to find one of my sisters to walk me home before the fish died. As you continued up Main Street out of earshot of the carnival, you would hear the familiar voices of the volunteer fireman ("B 12. BEEEE 12. Under the G, 42, GEEEE 42. Hold your card, folks, we have a Bingo!"), and the lucky winner might have gotten 50 cents or even a dollar, depending on how many people were playing. And then there was the food... Pronto Pups, cotton candy, the KC fish stand, the Pork Producers stand, the Raymond Methodist Church Lemonade Shake-ups, and of course homemade ice cream that was made with, dare I say it, RAW eggs! We lived on the edge back then.
Since Dad was on the Fire Department, we were allowed on the Gun Club grounds during the fireworks. I would meet up with him around dark, and we would make a stop at that small concession stand that was always set up near Mizera's. They served ice cream bars covered with chocolate and nuts, and we would enjoy ours as we made our way to the Gun Club. I seem to remember that the folks who ran that stand were from Nokomis and they came to Raymond's celebration for many years.
Back in those days, the fireworks were lit by hand, and Carl Peger and Gene Adams were in charge. From out seats on top of one of the firetrucks, we could see their silhouettes and their flares over in the distance. They would bend down, light the fuse, and then run like hell. A few seconds later, you would hear a loud swishing noise, and a single firework would shoot up into the sky and everyone would "oooh" and "ahhhh." The fireworks went up one at a time for about thirty minutes until the finale, when they lit up a display that was shaped like the American Flag.
By the time we made it back uptown after the fireworks, the stands and the rides were being disassembled and the streets were being cleaned. By the next day, you could hardly tell that anything even happened.
Since Dad was on the Fire Department, we were allowed on the Gun Club grounds during the fireworks. I would meet up with him around dark, and we would make a stop at that small concession stand that was always set up near Mizera's. They served ice cream bars covered with chocolate and nuts, and we would enjoy ours as we made our way to the Gun Club. I seem to remember that the folks who ran that stand were from Nokomis and they came to Raymond's celebration for many years.
Back in those days, the fireworks were lit by hand, and Carl Peger and Gene Adams were in charge. From out seats on top of one of the firetrucks, we could see their silhouettes and their flares over in the distance. They would bend down, light the fuse, and then run like hell. A few seconds later, you would hear a loud swishing noise, and a single firework would shoot up into the sky and everyone would "oooh" and "ahhhh." The fireworks went up one at a time for about thirty minutes until the finale, when they lit up a display that was shaped like the American Flag.
By the time we made it back uptown after the fireworks, the stands and the rides were being disassembled and the streets were being cleaned. By the next day, you could hardly tell that anything even happened.
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American Legion float around 1960. From left -- Barb (Hannon) Boehler, Nancy (Bandy) Ryan, Chris (Hall) Meisner, Barb (Broaddus) Stephenson, and Russell Poggenpohl |
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| A street scene of the 1967 celebration taken from on top of the Ferris wheel. |
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| Rick Wagahoff and Rex Truebe in the early 1960's. |
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| JP Masten and one of Bev and Bill Held's boys (Doug?) around 1990. |
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