BIG TIME

BIG TIME!

JASPER HISTORY TELLS OF FOURTHS PAST

By John Harvey

Over the past few weeks as the Fourth of July has approached, I have looked for references to celebrations of the Fourth in the past, making notes when I ran across an interesting item.

In the early years after the Revolution, the Fourth of July was the most widely celebrated holiday of the year. In the 1790's, Independence Day was almost a religious celebration with speeches, parades, barbecues and balls in which all participated.

In the early 1800's in Middle Georgia, the Fourth was a time for similar celebrating with games, barbecues, picnics and balls. one particularly interesting custom was that of the young men braiding the manes and tails of their best riding horses with colorful ribbons and riding about the county. On these occasions, games of horsemanship and skill were held in most of the communities along with the regular celebrations.

We are told that somewhere in the records of the Interior Court of the county is an account of a groups of young men in the early 1800's not paying attention to where one of their rockets had landed. It set fire to Major Birney's law office which stood on the corner of the Square where Florence's Gift Shop is now located.

In looking through early issues of the Jasper County News, one early account of a fourth of July celebration was found in the July 7, 1887 issue. Under a headline reading, "Fire Works Display on the Fourth" was this account:

"A few days ago fireworks were displayed in Monticello. All the latest fireworks were displayed and demonstrated; among them Chinese firecrackers, the new Chinese Rattan Bomb which when exploded in your yard till make your neighbors think you have one of the army's new Howitzer cannons, and the Pigeon Rocket which is lit by a punk on the end of a three foot stick. This rocket looks about as much like a pigeon as a chicken looks like a hawk. When lit it rises to a height of about twenty feet and makes a wide circle spewing silver sparks and blue smoke. The chief danger of this rocket is that it might hit a building and set it on fire before it burns out.

"The Tiger Lily, another new firework, was also demonstrated. It looks like a child's candy cane and is stuck in the ground before being lit. It then sends colored sparks into the air to a height of about thirty feet" (Later they were renamed Roman Candles)

The July 12, 1881, Jasper County News had the following: "Citizens of Monticello and Jasper County Hold a Ball Under the "Nom de Plume" of a Picnic." The story that followed stated that Mr. Willie Warren, "that noble citizen of the community of Mechanicsville", had allowed the people to enjoy a picnic in the lovely grove of trees near his house. A great number of old people had arrived early and assembled in groups to talk about farming and incidents of their childhood.

Early in the morning, dancing had begun for the young people and lasted until noon. After dinner, Mr. S. R. Smith had delivered a nice speech on the Fourth of July, and was followed by other speeches by county officials and other leaders. After the speeches, the dancing had resumed and continued into the evening, turning the picnic into a ball. Just before the gathering broke up, the sheriff, Mr. Monroe Phillips, made a speech commending the crowd on its orderliness. The correspondence was Mr. W. D. Cornwell.

In 1901, the June 27 issue of the paper carried a special supplement and news story announcing the Jackson Chautauqua to be held the week of June 30 thru July 6. An accompanying story stated that the celebration in Butts County included the surrounding counties and that a large delegation of Confederate veterans, all the school teachers, and two winners of the high school speaking contest from Jasper County would attend.

The guest of honor on July Fourth was to be Mrs. T. J. "Stonewall" Jackson, widow of the Confederate general and she was to present decorations to many of the Confederate veterans. The paper also announced that there would be a barbecue in honor of Mrs. Jackson and the Confederate veterans sponsored by the Jackson-Butts County Chamber of Commerce. Also announced was a oratorical contest in which the two Jasper County students would participate. The public was invited to the barbecue.

In other parts of the News, the Methodist were having a revival and planned a special service for the night of July Fourth. The following week, the paper noted that the city of Jackson had presented Mrs. Jackson with a silver cup in honor of her visit to their city.

During the 20's, 30's and 40's the Fourth was a relatively quiet holiday. Most of the fireworks were bought at Christmas time, and for a fire works display we had to travel to Macon or Atlanta.

In 1932 the Fourth came on a Sunday as it does this year. A union service was held at the old high school auditorium and participation by the Methodists, Baptist and Presbyterians. The Rev. W. B. Underwood of the Baptists was master of ceremonies, the Rev. J. O. Brand of the Methodist gave a prayer, and the featured speaker was the Rev. K. J. Morgan, pastor of the Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Morgan's subject was "America's Needs Today". The Rev Morgan was the son of the Rev. G. Campbell Morgan, British evangelist and at that time till a citizen of Great Britain.

Additional Comments:
Transcribed by Suzanne Forte (suzanneforte@bellsouth.net) April 2005, from copies of articles contained in the Monticello News. There articles were prepared by Mr.
John Harvey and published in this newspaper during the 1970's and 1980's time frame. Some were under the title "Jasper Reflections", others "Bicentennial Bits".
Permission has been granted by Mr. Harvey for use of these very valuable and informative articles.

Copies of articles provided by Benny Hawthorne.