Independence Day at South Bay!

Uncle Ed and Aunt Louise lived on a hundred

acres on Puget Sound with a few thousand feet

of waterfront, backed by rolling hills, a sprawling

orchard and 70 Guernsey cows, waiting out

pregnancy and one Guernsey bull to guard them

Our Fourth of Julys began with

a clambake on the beach around noon

Uncle Ed had spent the morning digging

cockle and butter clams

He built a fire on the beach, and when it

burnt down to coals, he piled the grate

with salt weed we kids pulled along the shore

He layered the clams with salt weed then

covered the stack with wet gunny sacks

Butter melted in a pan close by the fire

The family gathered round as the clams opened,

 we piled plates with mountains of clams and

 melted butter in a clam shell, imbibing a delicacy

I can still taste today!

Lots of work went into this annual celebration

Many hands made light the work and we kids

joyfully did whatever we were conscripted

to do

In between times, I swung in one of the hammocks

under the trees, enjoying a bay breeze and relief

from the summer sun

Brother Doug was usually out in the field setting

off fire crackers, so napping was not easy but I

was young and Pop always said: Rainy has two

speeds: Stop and go like hell; so I must have

snoozed a little

Toward evening Uncle Ed and Aunt Louise with

everybody’s help, started hauling out the food

they had prepared for our barbecue feast

As the coals turned from red to white, the

hotdogs were first-Uncle Ed would frown if

you didn’t accept one,

Then the chicken went on-never pre-cooked,

 Uncle Ed, a doctor, always served it black!

There were endless salads and raw vegetables

harvested from all the family gardens and corn on

the cob, chips, pickles, olives and usually some

exotic offering Uncle Frank, antique & art dealer,

 picked up on his travels

Mom’s ice tea with fresh lemon and sugar was

drunk by the gallons and after a little rest

Aunt Louise brought out her strawberry shortcake

with succulent strawberries from her personal strawberry

patch, fresh baked biscuits piled high with rich, yellow

 Guernsey whipped cream

The women and children cleaned up while the men

rested, chatted, napped and then we children roamed

the acres exploring, warned to stay away from the bull!

Mom usually took a walk with my sister and me

As darkness approached, Uncle Ed and Pop opened

the fireworks and instructed brothers Burt and Doug

how to set them up in the field, buckets of water

and the garden hose nearby

Aunt Louise and mom and Aunt Erma brought out

the blankets and my sister Vick and I carried out

and set up the folding chairs in a semi-circle

where the extended family would later sit

Aunt Erma usually brought homemade fudge and

some glazed walnuts and later we would have

homemade ice-cream that any kid who wanted to

got to crank the churn-one of my favorite things

to do

Uncle Ed and my brothers set off the fireworks

Since pop and the uncles loved fireworks, they

pooled their money and we usually had an hour’s

worth to display-and many displays were visible

set off by other families all around the bay

At the end, after the last Roman candle died,

My sister and I danced around with sparklers

singing “The Star Spangled Banner” demanding

our share of attention

Later, I remember waking up briefly in my

father’s arms as he carried me to bed

Home at last, this little farm girl, turned over and

went to sleep, safe in my soft bed, to dream

I would later learn in school about the

American Revolution and why we were celebrating…