Salem celebrates the Fourth of July in a big way, with a Horribles parade at Salem Willows in the morning and fireworks accompanied by an orchestra at Derby Wharf in the evening. The Fourth is not perhaps as big an extravaganza as it used to be a while ago when a huge bonfire of barrels ruled the day (or night) in our city, but it is still big. I walked around and saw everyone putting out their colors today, and past the rather sad-looking Friendship which is missing its masts and getting hauled out for repairs the day after the holiday. The money shot of Fourth of July photography is the fireworks against the rigging and sails of the Friendship, so this year Salem photographers are going to have to be very creative! I put my own bunting on the house and stocked the refrigerator: my only regret is that I failed to make the famous Fourth of July punch featured on Chestnut Days past and in the 1947 Hamilton Hall Cookbook: apparently it takes two months to “ripen” so two days will simply not do.
Festooned for the Fourth on Chestnut, Essex, Carlton, Williams and Winter Streets in Salem, the mastless Friendship, and the 1947 recipe for Fourth of July punch–too late for this year but keep in mind for next.
July 1st, 2016 at 5:00 pm
My favorite part of the 4th—and my favorite mental picture of the holiday, for that matter–is the reading of the Declaration of Independence on Salem Common…blue sky, dogs and kids playing on the grass, lawn chairs and little flags, everyone standing around the pavilion singing America the Beautiful out of tune….and, of course, listening to the entirety of the Declaration and trying to realize just how radical it was!
July 1st, 2016 at 5:02 pm
Oh I forgot to mention that, Shelby–thanks for doing so! It is a wonderful start to the day.
July 1st, 2016 at 6:06 pm
Hi Donna, great pics as usual – thanks
Mentioning the Horribles Parade in the Willows. When my children were young in the 70s early 80s, we always attended because my cousin rented a house for the summer on Bayside (?) Avenue. Lovely neighborhood. I believe that their house was the only “rental” left on the street. The good folks across the way had a big house “uptown” and still summered in the Willows. I must say that the floats in the parade were fabulous, particularly the political satire. Great memories…
July 1st, 2016 at 6:21 pm
Bayview. I know; that was a particular Salem thing, to have a summer house only a few miles away from the regular one! Not sure of my schedule, but I’ll try to take some pictures on Monday.
July 2nd, 2016 at 2:26 pm
So I just made a batch of “Fourth of July Punch” from the 1947 Hamilton Hall cookbook, but since it’s supposed to ripen for 2 months I guess it’ll have to be a Labor Day Punch…
July 2nd, 2016 at 3:15 pm
I am imagining that the fruit juices ferment in all that time, making it a pretty potent punch when combined with all that rum!
July 3rd, 2016 at 10:14 am
Definitely too strong to be drunk straight – a recipe like this is meant to be diluted with water/ice before serving. In this case, Champagne is the diluting agent. Notice the recipe gives no amount for the Champagne, so the final strength of the punch is left to the concocter.
May 24th, 2017 at 9:06 am
Got this year’s 4th of July punch made last weekend, so a little late, but it’ll have a good 6 weeks to “age”. Made a few tweaks to my method, and am hoping for a good result!
May 24th, 2017 at 4:45 pm
Thanks for the reminder!