The Fourth of July

There is nothing quite like a Fourth of July along the coast of the North Shore.

There are flags everywhere, people, parties, cookouts, entire streets shut off for block parties and there are the fireworks which nearly everyone so enjoys.

Lynn’s place in this mosaic is primary. All along Lynn Shore Drive and on most of the streets leading back to Ocean Street, the annual Fourth of July scene is something to behold.

Not much about the year-to-year celebration of the holiday has changed since the 1920’s here.

The only nuances from year to year are, of course, the weather and the degree to which available funds allows for the type of party to go on.

For instance, during the Roaring 1920’s, when everything about the economy was soaring, when the shoe industry roared, when there was full employment and the automobile was coming to dominate the nation, Fourth of July Celebrations here and everywhere must have been unbelievable.

Then came the Depression Years when everything changed, when millions became unemployed, when every industry barely existed and this includes the shoe industry which experienced hard times. Still, there was the Fourth of July and fireworks and barbecues and outings. They weren’t as lavish or richly done up as we have them today.

The 1940’s celebrations here before the war were hearty but during the war they were more subdued – and millions of young Americans were overseas fighting on foreign battlefields and many were dying, and many of those were from Lynn, and so even the Fourth of July was somber during the war.

The 1950’s brought quiet and stability and a bit of growth and the holiday was in a cherished moment of sorts. Ike was the President. The Republicans ruled the White House. Other than the Korean War which ended indecisively early on in that decade, it was a quiet time and the Fourth of July became a major annual event again in its fullest.

Lynn was changing throughout these decades but the celebration didn’t change too much along the sea here.

From the 1960’s, thoughout the turbulent years of the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon and then into the 1970’s and 1980’s and through the 1990’s and up to the present, the holiday has taken on the look and feel of something wonderfully uplifting and reassuring at the same time every year.

It is always a rush to be along the North Shore and the ocean and to have such a holiday dedicated to the freedom we all enjoy.

Lynn roars with the spirit of the holiday.

There are flags everywhere for as far as the eye can see. Parties and cook-outs. Small gatherings. Fireworks all night and so much more.

Enjoy the holiday. Take pleasure in watching it unfold and then enjoy it for what it is and pray to God this nation lasts a good long time to keep a positive watch on liberty and justice for all.

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