Article Text

Long before organized fireworks displays became the centerpiece of the Fourth of July, the holiday offered children a rare thrill: permission to play with fire.

Patriotism was not the main attraction. Sparklers were. Although public fireworks were likely held at Gregg Park, the local gathering place for many occasions, the family never attended. A professional fireworks show would not enter the picture until adulthood.

Instead, parents supplied boxes of sparklers for neighborhood children to enjoy together. Writing names in the darkness soon gave way to experiments: lighting sparklers at both ends, carrying one in each hand while running in circles and using a fading sparkler to ignite the next.

Some children tested their courage by holding the sparks close to their arms. Later came colored sparklers and oversized versions that could be planted in the ground. A bucket of water, kept nearby by Mother, provided a place to discard the hot wires before another round began.

Waiting for nightfall required other entertainment. Small black tablets known as snakes could be placed on the pavement and lit, producing twisting columns of ash. Children handled the residue, fashioned pretend mustaches from it and threw it at one another, leaving black marks on their hands and stains on the pavement that lasted for months.

Firecrackers arrived as the children grew older, but the single loud bang seemed dull compared with the creativity inspired by sparklers and snakes.

Modern Fourth of July celebrations may be more structured and less spontaneous, but those childhood holidays found excitement in simple fireworks, improvised games and just enough danger to make the night memorable.