Cambria marks July Fourth

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

CAMBRIA--Even the quartet or more of thunder-boomers that moved through the area up until 11 a.m. Friday failed to dampen spirits for Cambria's rousing 132nd Fourth of July celebration.

A small parade featuring about 20 units, two of which got back in line for a second trip along the parade route, covered the distance from the west end of town to the road that passes the town's "new" town hall in less than 20 minutes.

Several parade spectators quickly spotted the reason for the shorter parade this year.

"There were no politicians in there," said one.

"That's encouraging," said another, matter-of-factly.

There were no marching bands, but owner Georg Marti and his Morgan Creek Winery seven provided music during the parade.

(Actually, Marti sat atop the truck's cab playing his concertina and his employees kind of hummed along.)

Although there had been a recent rain, volunteer firemen on two fire trucks sprayed water into the air which misted down onto the spectators lining Cambria's Main Street. Most enjoyed it; a few didn't and scurried off to drier locations.

No one seemed to mind, however, that one of the trucks which had hosed them before came around for a second shot at it. Perhaps, it's because it followed Marti's "concertina" wagon which also made encore trip along the parade route.

Then, there was the "cherry," glimmering blue 1934 Ford Coupe that brought forth "oohs" and "aahs" all along the route. Another float sought donations for Friday night's fireworks display.

Most parade watchers appeared to appreciate that the parade which started at 1:07 p.m. was over by 1:25 p.m. In fact, it gave them time to stop for a hamburger at the park pavilion before walking another block to Town Hall where the annual patriotism program was scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

After the Star Spangled Banner was sung and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was said, several of the community's teenagers presented patriotic readings on "The Flag," "Statue of Liberty" and "The Bald Eagle."

A "multi-media presentation," called "Citizenship in Cambria," and presented by Cambria's youth group, featured Power Point images projected from a laptop computer. As Master of Ceremonies Randall Harder pointed out, "it's our first attempt at modern technology."

David Edwards, a former Cambria-ite now living in Minnetonka, having been persuaded to be this year's guest speaker, told about everyone congregating in Wagner's Grove which was, in fact, he said, a cow pasture to celebrate the Fourth.

"Actually, all I remember (from those days) was ways to get out of listening to boring speakers," Edwards said.

It made such an impression that he had told his wife and daughter to wave the small American flags they were holding "furiously above their heads if I get off track."

It wasn't long before they were waving the flags, and he then started into talking about the 56 men who gathered in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence.

While many felt it was the men's wealth that brought them there, "it was principle, not property, that brought these men to Philadelphia," Edwards said, "and many of them paid dearly. When they signed the Declaration of Independence, they were signing their own death sentence because England had not yet been driven from our shores."

When the free-will offering had been taken, the auction held and T-shirts promoting Cambria's Fourth of July Freedom Fest (all to fund next year's celebration), Cambria-ites settled back to await the customary fireworks display at dusk.