Speaker 1: This is Lee Habib, and this is our American stories
Speaker 1: and all show long. Today we're celebrating Independence Day here
Speaker 1: on our American stories and all the things that make
Speaker 1: our country the special place that it is. Up next
Speaker 1: to story from our regular contributor out of ten forty
Speaker 1: who in Des Moines, Joy Neil Kidney Joy is the
Speaker 1: author of Leora's Letters and Leora's Dexter's stories, and today
Speaker 1: she shares with us a story entitled.
Speaker 2: Independence Day nineteen oh seven.
Speaker 3: Take it away, Joy, Independence Day nineteen seven. What a
Speaker 3: familiar photo this was to me as a child, shared
Speaker 3: and Laura Goff and all ten children who survived into adulthood.
Speaker 3: But it wasn't until my grandmother, Leora, the oldest daughter,
Speaker 3: died and left her handwritten memoirs that I learned the
Speaker 3: story behind the photo. Her memories even lured my sister
Speaker 3: and me to pay a visit to the county seat
Speaker 3: town of Ottoman, Iowa. We always had a big celebration
Speaker 3: the fourth of July, Leora wrote, Nearly every town or
Speaker 3: berg had something doing. We used to get off at daybreak,
Speaker 3: get our work done, farm chores, and get ready to
Speaker 3: go to town with a wagon or buggy to see the
Speaker 3: big parade and stay till the fireworks and then do
Speaker 3: farm chores. When we got home. We were all tired,
Speaker 3: but glad to have a big day the fourth of
Speaker 3: July when I was sixteen years old. She said, that
Speaker 3: would have been nineteen seven. The citizens of Ottoman were
Speaker 3: awakened that morning by firecrackers in the boom of the
Speaker 3: old cannon, saluting the forty five five states comprising our
Speaker 3: great Republic. Mob was probably frying chicken and packing the
Speaker 3: picnic basket while the older boys were helping Paw hitch
Speaker 3: up the horses. The older girls would have helped the
Speaker 3: four younger ones button suspenders and high top shoes driving
Speaker 3: the eight miles over dirt roads across the Nishnabotna River
Speaker 3: to Ottobon gofs made it in time for the parade.
Speaker 3: They would have made arrangements for the horses, joining probably
Speaker 3: dozens of others along with their wagons and buggies. The
Speaker 3: old newspaper said that the Ottoman Marshall Band met the train,
Speaker 3: which had steamed and huffed into the station from the
Speaker 3: south along Market Street which is now Highway seventy one.
Speaker 3: Off stepped families with their dinner baskets. Members of the
Speaker 3: Atlantic Cornet Band and the Days of were Senator Shirley
Speaker 3: Gilliland of Glenwood, a handsome young man pictured with a
Speaker 3: large mustache. At nine forty five, the Atlantic Band gave
Speaker 3: a concert of high class music. A chorus sang patriotic songs.
Speaker 3: An hour later, a reverend offered a prayer, and a
Speaker 3: schoolboy recited Lincoln Gettysburg's speech, then in a strong voice
Speaker 3: and with a commanding personality. According to the article, Senator
Speaker 3: Gilliland made a forty minute address that held the attention
Speaker 3: of the crowd, circumspect in character and conduct, with the
Speaker 3: only criticism the paper said that the speech was too short.
Speaker 3: Picnicking began at noon. Afterwards, the men would have checked
Speaker 3: on the horses, and the youngsters and the older folks
Speaker 3: probably napped on old quilts while we were eating our dinner.
Speaker 3: Wrote at least seventy years later, the folks thought of
Speaker 3: having a family picture taken while we were all together.
Speaker 3: Pa was the only one of the men or boys
Speaker 3: who had a tie on, and Rolla wanted to go barefoot,
Speaker 3: as he claimed his shoes hurt his feet. I expect
Speaker 3: they did as he went barefoot most always. So we
Speaker 3: went to the picture studio for the picture and Rolla's
Speaker 3: bare feet showed. It was the only family picture we
Speaker 3: ever had taken of us all. Her mother Laura was
Speaker 3: pregnant then with Virgil Cleon, who would only live one year.
Speaker 3: In the photo, Laura is wearing her wedding ring on
Speaker 3: her middle finger, just as she did as an elderly woman.
Speaker 3: Sports contests began, at one point thirty races, even one
Speaker 3: for fat men of at least two hundred ten pounds.
Speaker 3: Shot put, tug of war, sack race, pole vault, wheelbarrow race,
Speaker 3: a drill team at a baseball game between Audobon and
Speaker 3: Dedham were on the grounds near the electric light plant.
Speaker 3: Audubon won seven to one. There were cash prizes, but
Speaker 3: no golfs were named among the winners. Although the sun
Speaker 3: was hot and the mercury ran up to ninety five
Speaker 3: degrees in the government thermometer, there was a delightful breeze
Speaker 3: in that hilltop park, which is still a lovely area
Speaker 3: to day. Well into her eighties or early nineties, Leora
Speaker 3: Gough remembered the day ended with a rain shower in
Speaker 3: the late p m. There were no paved roads, so
Speaker 3: we came home in the mud. Ruby wore white shoes
Speaker 3: and she got the muddy, but all seemed happy anyway.
Speaker 3: Is there any wonder that this old photograph taken Independence
Speaker 3: Day nineteen seven is one of my earthly treasures and
Speaker 3: the story behind it made for a very pleasant day
Speaker 3: trip to the county seat town of Ottoman, Iowa.
Speaker 1: And great job on that piece by Monty, And a
Speaker 1: special thanks to joy Neil Kidney for all she does
Speaker 1: here and just a treasure, by the way, What an
Speaker 1: idea for someone to be the memoirst in a family too?
Speaker 1: I mean, our American Stories hopefully prompts you to have
Speaker 1: your American stories, your families American stories, and your towns
Speaker 1: American stories. Send them to our Americanstories dot com. That's
Speaker 1: Ouramerican Stories dot com. As you can tell there's some
Speaker 1: of our favorites. We say that, but we really mean it.
Speaker 1: By the way, she noted that in nineteen oh seven
Speaker 1: there were forty five states. Oklahoma had just missed the cut.
Speaker 1: They came in in nineteen oh seven in November, and
Speaker 1: of course New Mexico in nineteen twelve. Arizona followed in
Speaker 1: nineteen twelve, Alaska in nineteen fifty nine, and Hawaii followed
Speaker 1: in August of fiftyeenne making it fifty if there was
Speaker 1: a time when it was forty five, and there was
Speaker 1: a time when it was thirteen, and there were a
Speaker 1: time when there was none and the Declaration of Independence
Speaker 1: is what we're really celebrating here today on Independence Day.
Speaker 1: We should all read it together, by the way, and
Speaker 1: we read it together as a team. Every show, every
Speaker 1: Independence Day, you should do it as a family.
Speaker 2: This is our American Stories.
Speaker 1: More of our Independence Day special continues after these messages. Folks,
Speaker 1: if you love the stories we tell about this great country,
Speaker 1: and especially the stories of America's rich past, know that
Speaker 1: all of our stories about American history, from war to innovation,
Speaker 1: culture and faith, are brought to us by the great
Speaker 1: folks at Hillsdale College, a place where students study all
Speaker 1: the things that are beautiful in life and all the
Speaker 1: things that are good in life. And if you can't
Speaker 1: get to Hillsdale, Hillsdale will come to you with their
Speaker 1: free and terrific online courses.
Speaker 2: Go to Hillsdale dot edu to learn more.