Celebrating the 4th of July a Century Ago
In thinking about what to write about the 4th of July, I decided to scour the Library of Congress for photos of Americans celebrating Independence Day. Soon I realized that several of the photos I found were approximately a century ago. For example, here is a scene from a 4th of July parade in Alaska in 1916.
The 4th of July parade below took place at Walter Reed Hospital in 1921. Those wearing costumes in the parade are doctors and nurses.
I also found pictures of people celebrating the 4th of July in other countries around the same time. These American infantrymen are marching in a 4th of July parade in Paris, France, during World War I.
Some photographs showed Europeans celebrating the 4th of July out of gratitude to ways America and Americans had helped them. These Parisian women are showering the marching American soldiers with flowers.
The Polish children below are honoring American Independence Day because of the many ways Americans provided relief for them after the devastation of World War I. This is the Library of Congress caption for the photo:
Poland thanks America. The fourth of July was observed in Poland this year for the first time in the tragic history of the infant republic and was intended as a tribute to the United States which has helped through its Red Cross and other relief agencies in the country’s fight against starvation and disease. In a parade, in Warsaw marched 10,000 school children who carried American and Polish colors and sang the anthems of both countries.
The Library of Congress has the following caption for a photo of Hungarians celebrating the 4th of July:
The Fourth of July celebration in Budapest. View taken from the steps of the Hungary Museum of the crowds gathering for the open-air Mass in honor of the American Red Cross. Seldom has there been so stirring a sight in Budapest as this demonstration in honor of the birthday of American liberty. The Hungarians know America through the activities of the American Red Cross and this independence day pageant was directly arranged as a compliment and a thanksgiving to that organization.
The children below are celebrating Independence Day in Albania. This is the caption from the Library of Congress:
American demonstrations in Albania. Showing some of the tiny Albanians of Tirana who marched in parades to do honor to America’s Fourth of July this year. ‘Free American’ is like a star that shines always in the vision of the peoples of Europe that war has recently freed from bondage to foreign ruler-ship and any display of reviving national spirit always goes hand in hand with gratitude for the friendship of that great country. The demonstrations this year were made much by all the children for it is from American school children and their Junior Red Cross that so many blessings have come to them in their long period of hardship and distress.
May we mamas and grandmamas train the children of today so that they will serve in the same way in this generation and in the generation one hundred years from now unless the Lord returns first.
She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Proverbs 31:26
All photos are courtesy of the Library of Congress.