A Rude But Patriotic Awakening

Some residents of Lehi, Utah, are not happy with the city's early-morning Independence Day tradition.

Since the early 1900s, the city's firefighters have greeted every Fourth of July at 6 a.m. by setting off a series of 12 to 15 loud explosions, called salutes, throughout the city. The event is believed to honor a tradition that may have begun by city pioneers in 1876, the country's centennial.

In 1876, the town of approximately 1,200 observed Independence Day by firing 100 guns in honor of the number of years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

For a climactic finish, an anvil was fired by lighting a charge of black powder under it, causing a "clap like thunder." [Link]

The Perfect Place for a Picnic

At Shiloh Cemetery in Rusk County, Texas, they've been holding a picnic every summer for 132 years. More than 300 relatives of cemetery residents attended this year's event.

[I]n 1876, a tradition was born when Mrs. Susan Vaughn Pierce, wife of Wylie Pierce, and "Granny" Jeffrey met with friends to clean the cemetery. They always packed a lunch since the cemetery cleaning was an all day affair. The idea spread, and others brought lunches, and the "Shiloh Picnic", as it became known, grew larger and larger. The picnic has since then been held every 4th of July and is celebrated by all of those families connected to the Shiloh area by family ties.

Two concession stands were built where refreshments were sold to provide money for the work of caring for the cemetery. [Link]

I think every cemetery should have a concession stand or two.