June 25, 2014 at 4:35 p.m.
A look at Fourth of July in Rhinelander through the years
A look at Fourth of July in Rhinelander through the years
By By Kyle Rogers-
"I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival," Adams wrote. "... It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."
Adams was referring to the prior day, July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution declaring the United States independent from Great Britain. It, in fact, was the following day, the date displayed on the Declaration of Independence, that became America's official anniversary. Adams was right about one thing though - how that anniversary of independence would be celebrated by subsequent generations. In the 238 years since the signing of the declaration, July 4 has definitely been a day of "Pomp and Parade."
In Rhinelander, Fourth of July staples such as parades and fireworks have been common over the decades though each era has celebrated the nation's birthday in a slightly different manner.
At one time, Fourth of July meant an entire day's worth of races and other competitive contests. Take the celebration of 1930. Following the parade, the schedule was packed with various events from 50- and 100-yard dashes for both children and adults to contests like cracker eating, nail driving and the greased pole climb. Most of the contests had $3, $2 and $1 awards for the top finishers. There were also motorcycle and car races held at the fairgrounds before the fireworks show got under way, including a half-mile backward race in Model T Fords. Two decades later, newspaper archives show that Fourth of July races continued to be a common event though it was boat races on Boom Lake instead of Model T Fords at the fairgrounds.
The celebration in 1965 provides yet another example of the various types of "extra" entertainment that have accompanied the traditional parades and fireworks displays over the years. That year, Fourth of July weekend activities included two different dances for teenagers, a carnival, a chicken dinner sponsored by the Lions Club, sack races, pie and watermelon eating contests, two skydivers jumping from 12,000 and 7,000 feet and using the ball fields at Hodag Park as a landing pad, and a water baseball game between the Rhinelander Jaycees and the Rhinelander Youth Council.
"With fielders frantically rowing and swimming after the volleyball when it was hit into fair territory by the batter, and with the batter hurriedly climbing into a boat to propel himself around the bases, the unique game offered a spill a minute," a newspaper article from the time recounts.
One of the most active Fourth of July weekends in Rhinelander occurred in 1976 when the nation celebrated its bicentennial. News reports from that time depict a scene that was common across the country as Americans made a point to celebrate 200 years of independence in style.
"Probably the largest crowd for a fireworks program in Northwoods history gathered in and near Hodag Park here Sunday night," read an article in the Rhinelander Daily News. "Police Chief Tony N. Paris said it was difficult to give an estimate of the size of the crowd because it was scattered along the entire lakefront ... Hodag Park was filled with humanity throughout the holiday weekend, with many families spending all of Sunday and Monday there. Park employees said all public picnic tables were claimed by 8 a.m. each day. Hundreds of other families brought their own picnic tables, some using pickup trucks to transport the heavier items ... Folding lawn chairs were carried into the park by the hundreds, along with portable grills of every size and shape. While there were organized games for youngsters, under the direction of the Knights of Columbus, hundreds of celebrants staged their own entertainment - impromptu football, volleyball, soccer, badminton and softball games. Frisbee and lawn darts tossing and games of tag. Hodag Water Shows staged probably its best performance in history Sunday night, thrilling the big crowd and repeated Monday night. Many of the picnicking families cooked and ate all of their meals in the park both days."
That year, 23 Rhinelander residents also participated in a special statewide event commemorating the bicentennial. A baton containing messages from local and state officials traveled from Hurley to the Illinois/Wisconsin border over the course of the weekend.
The 305-mile route was covered in just under 31 hours and included a 26-mile section along Highway 51 through Oneida County. The 23 Rhinelander runners each carried the baton for a half-mile.
While the bicentennial called for such "special" events, and other details may be tweaked from year to year, Fourth of July in Rhinelander hasn't changed much over the years. Rhinelander residents can count on the kiddie parade and main parade occurring in the morning in downtown. Later, they know they'll be headed to Hodag Park for a water ski show and fireworks. Many years there's been some baseball to take in as well during the holiday weekend. Eighty years ago it was the Refrigerator Athletic Club playing another area team. In recent years, if there's any Fourth of July ball, the American Legion club would be the team taking the field.
Even in Rhinelander's earliest days the standard Fourth of July celebration existed. The only difference was that the language of the day provided a more colorful description of the festivities - the "pomp" that Adams referred to in his letter. Take the following article published in the July 1, 1891 edition of The Vindicator, one of the area's first newspapers, promoting Rhinelander's Fourth of July events:
"The leading features of the celebration will consist of the early morning salute, the grand march including our fire and civic societies, a mighty procession of fantastic ragamuffins, an eloquent oration, the reading of the declaration of independence with its soul-stirring words, patriotic songs, and floods of instrumental music by the bands. Then will come the races, the mirth provoking races, including the sack, potato and wheelbarrow contests ... Down in the yellow Wisconsin, close to the bridges, the expert drivers will try each other's mettle by seeing who can longest stay upon his log as it plunges in the mad waters, like some untamed steed. Then will come the great ball contest between the crack clubs of Rhinelander and Watersmeet ... A grand pyrotechnic display will be seen, as twilight's curtain gently drops, and the sky will be ablaze for hours with fireworks of bewildering beauty. And then the lovers of the dance will find ample opportunity to trip the light fantastic toe to their hearts' content as every hall in the city will be thrown open upon the night of the 4th ... Leave your petty cares behind and come prepared to enjoy yourselves to the utmost, and bring your friends along that they may share your pleasure. 'Tis Independence Day. It is the day that heard the tones of freedom's bell."
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