Fourth of July celebrations in NH

Memorial Day may mark the first barbecue and trip to the beach, to dip our toes into the ice-cold water. By the Fourth of July summer is in full swing. I have always loved the festivities. The red, white and blue theme, which means blueberry pie with fresh berries, raspberries arranged to decorate the top of a cake with white icing, stars and stripes on napkins, paper plates and plastic utensils.

It's the parades and the fireworks that make this such a different holiday. Children marching together, scout troops carrying banners and flags, fire trucks, the National Guard, businesses with covered floats probably designed in someone’s garage.

We usually spent July Fourth at Uncle Jim and Aunt Barbie’s cottage on Merrymeeting Lake, and the highlight of the afternoon was the parade of the cousins marching around the cottage banging on tin pans. A wonderful memory.

There is also fishing. I recall the fun I had with my cousin Sally Johnson using a simple pole and fishing from the floating dock at the Merrymeeting cottage. We would stand quietly just at the edge of the painted wooden platform, our tiny toes dangling over the edge staring into the crystal water when suddenly there would be a slight tug, then another, on the line dangling from some sort of pole, light as a willow stick. We would pull it up as high as we could to find at the end a squirming, amphibious creature, its gray scaly skin shining in the sun. Now what?

“Aunt Barbie,” one of us would call out, “We have a fish, will you come and help us?” Neither of us had the courage or the daring to touch the miserable fish. This was usually the time in the morning when she was handling domestic chores and would interrupt whatever she was doing and come to our rescue. The fish would be kept under lockdown for a few hours in a large blue enamel pot that was just next to the shore before an adult would quietly release it back into the lake. By then we were distracted by other activities and figuring out how to swipe one of Aunt Barbie’s soft, sweet butterscotch brownies before dinner.

We are lucky to have so many lakes in New Hampshire and opportunities for fishing and summer sports. Winnipesauke, Winnisquam, Squam and Merrymeeting.

And we are lucky to still have towns with Fourth of July parades and town squares, just in the middle. Real parades.

On the Fourth of July we reflect on our history.

John Adams, the second president of the United States, assisted Thomas Jefferson in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776. He was its primary advocate in Congress. In a letter written to his wife Abigail two days before the wording had been finalized, he suggested that:

The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

Congress voted to approve independence by passing the Lee Resolution on July 2 and adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4.

I wish everyone a festive Fourth of July.