There were no tied off areas reserved for peoples families on the parade route. In those days if you were too short to see you were pushed to the front, towards the road. Floats didn't toss out candy either. Nope - we went to the parade to be wowed by the fire trucks, police cars, Cudahy high school band, a few floats, precision marching squads, music troops, city dignitaries, and my favorite, the decorated bikes and wagons.
Storefronts closed so that the owners and employees could take part in the festivities. Red, White and Blue buntings were tied to the lamp posts and barricades blocked off the streets.
The park, my park, was sectioned off for games, judging, and fireworks. You could still picnic in the main area. And fish in the pond. But none of that mattered on the fourth of July.
The day would start as any respectable independence day celebration should, with a parade down Layton Avenue. Line up was organized at George Washington Elementary School (a retirement complex sits on the property where the school once stood) the parade route headed east on Layton and ended in Sheridan park.
Normally I would sit near the entrance to the park so that I could be one of the first people to get the free cracker Jack and ice cream handed out by the city firemen, but this year was different. Our family had designed and entered a decorated wagon. Judy and I would walk the parade route with the rest of the kids who were entering the homemade decoration contest.
Our entry (we would later call it 'creative crepe paper') featured our Barbies performing as the Up, Up with People music troupe. As a bit of reference, the troupe was formed in 1965 out of a summer youth conference. By the 1970's they were a huge phenomena, inspiring communities with a message of peace and unity. Over time, Up with People grew to be known worldwide for bridging cultural gaps and participating in international relations and education.
We decorated my brothers wagon, made a platform, spent hours creating microphones for each doll and made one large word bubble that would sit above all of their heads with the lyrics to the song.
Well, truthfully, my brother and sisters were responsible for the creation of our masterpiece. I did my part by entertaining them. Singing the title song over and over and dancing around (well, I sang the first two lines - it was all I knew). I must have been important though, because they kept asking me to run for supplies.
"Carole," we need more tape.
I'd be off running through the house looking for any kind of tape and would return with an arm full of all I could find.
"Carole," my marker is dry.
Off I'd dash to find a better marker.
Yup - they just wouldn't be able to have completed the float without my help and fast legs!
Judy and Ginny hand made costumes for each Barbie. Some dresses were made out of crepe paper, others hand sewn. The members of the group were put into place using wires and lots of tape. We made sure that every single one of them were standing.
It was a good thing I brought them such a large variety. I think we used every last piece.
Judy and I proudly walked the parade route and then were joined by Karen, Ginny and Gary. It was the first time i could remember us all working together on such an important project. My hands sweated and I couldn't smile any bigger for the judges. We waited for what felt like an eternity and then were surprised with a first place ribbon. It felt so good, and it was something we had all needed.
The remaining events of the day included your typical sack and three-legged races, foot races, egg/spoon race, for some reason I remember balloons (but I don't remember why) and a sawdust pile that they threw nickels in and then you got to dig through to find the buried treasure.
Judy won one of the foot races and was awarded with a plastic badminton set. We played with it at least a week before it broke.
That night our dad joined us and we all sat on the ground and watched the fireworks. One big happy family. Cudahy's fireworks were always the best, big, loud and beautiful. You knew when it was over because they lit a ground display that looked like an American flag.
I remember climbing into bed that night, with the song playing on my close and play record player. I drifted off to the sweet melody of....
Up! Up with people!
You meet 'em wherever you go
Up! Up with People!
They're the best kind of folks we know.
If more people were for people
All people ev'rywhere
There'd be a lot less people to worry about
And a lot more people who care.
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