Fourth of July marked with concerts, parade

By RACHEL WEDDIG

Journal Staff Writer

CAMBRIA -- Area residents were out on Wednesday, celebrating the Fourth of July.

In New Ulm, many gathered to watch various bands in Turner Hall Park. Nearby streets were filled with cars as residents arrived to hear the bands. Some got up and danced, while others just sat back and relaxed in the shade.

In Cambria, spectators lined the streets to watch the town's parade. They could hear the wailing horns and see the red flashing lights of Courtland Fire Trucks, watch children walking for the Morgan Creek Vineyards, and wave at jeeps of the Cambria Jeep Club carrying the Cambria Queens.

Candy and water balloons flew in the air, as people ducked behind trees to avoid being sprayed.

Following the parade, the 130th annual Fourth of July Patriotic Program was held in the Cambria community center.

The treasurer of the program committee Darlyne Deopere welcomed the overflowing crowd, saying she was very happy to see so many people.

After the audience sang the "Star-Spangled Banner" and recited the Pledge of Allegiance, the program was turned over to Betty Thorson, from Cambria Presbyterian Church.

Thorson recited some poetry to accompany her thoughts on Independence Day.

"What is the Fourth of July?" Thorson said. "It's a day to let there be prayers as well as a parade. It's a day to let there be leaders as well as heroes of the past. It's a day to let God be praised for this great land of ours. It's a day for us to celebrate, as God may find us worthy of our liberty."

Thorson next read a reading describing the Fourth of July. Her reading talked about "who" this country is.

"I am the nation -- I am the ghost of millions who have lived and died for me," Thorson read. "I am Abe Lincoln, the Alamo and Pearl Harbor. I am big. I am three million square miles of quiet villages and cities that never sleep."

Next, guest speaker Marshall Harris offered his perspective of Independence Day. Harris, of McGregor, is a retired business executive and served in the Marine Corps during WWII.

"Today, the Fourth of July is a day of celebration. Two-hundred and twenty-five years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, we reflect on the birth of our nation and rejoice," Harris said. "It's independence for you and for me, so we can stay in bed all afternoon or get up and go at it."

Harris's speech focused on one question, what has happened in our nation to our moral and spiritual foundation.

Harris said, "I'm seeing bits and pieces of our liberty hacked away each day by our courts or our way of living."

Harris talked about a presentation by Darrell Scott to a House Judiciary Commitee sub-committee. Scott is the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings on April 20, 1999.

Harris described Scott's speech as a speech "that should be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist and every so-called expert."

Harris read some excerpts from that speech.

"I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies... We do not need more gaudy television evangelists spewing out verbal religious garbage. . . We do need a change of heart and a humble acknowledgement that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God."

Harris added, "one of the main reasons we fought an eight-year war against the British was for self-governance and freedom of religious expression."

Harris presented a word of caution to the audience.

"There are those who believe that because our nation has always been free, we will always be free," Harris said. "The loss of nearly 400,000 of our nation's sons and daughters, should drive home the message to all of us that freedom is not free."

After the program the committee held a watermelon eating contest and games and activities for children, with fireworks lighting up the sky at dusk.