Free to celebrate

July 6, 2007

By Will Elliott

Frontiersman

WASILLA - The Fourth of July is a day for celebrating America and one's family. Not only are fireworks and parades associated with the holiday, it has sparked other observances for July. It's also National Hot Dog Month, National Grilling Month, National Picnic Month and Fireworks Safety Month.

Like many communities Wednesday, signs on businesses across the Mat-Su Valley proclaimed them closed for the holiday.

Chuck Kaucic, an adult leader of Boy Scout Troop 367, hopes the historical reasons American's celebrate Independence Day aren't lost amid all the fireworks and celebration.

"Independence Day is so much more than the Fourth of July," he said.

That debate recurs each December as a number of winter religious holidays are subsumed into a holiday season of sales and shopping, trimmed with a discursive mix of folk and commercial ornamentation. Kaucic said he had seen something like that happen to Independence Day. For example, in the way the holiday is often called by its date, the Fourth of July, instead of Independence Day.

Troop 367 did its share to celebrate independence Wednesday at the Wasilla Independence Day Parade.

&#8220We're here to celebrate our freedom and remember what [the founding fathers] had to go through to get it for us," Scout Eli Morris said.

The Scouts researched Revolutionary-era people - even some ancestors - and dressed in period garb for the parade. With their three-corner hats, powder horns and wooden canteens, among all the parade attractions the local Boy Scouts best represented the true meaning of Independence Day, Troop 367 member Zach Cherry said.

In September, the troop will host a camp for Cub Scouts that focuses on Revolutionary-era lore and skills.

Although the signing of the colonies' Declaration of Independence from England marked the birth of a free America, it also meant the signing of their own death warrants for many of the founding fathers, Kaucic said. Some lost everything for that patriotic act of treason.

The Scouts marched Wednesday hoping to remind people to be thankful for those sacrifices, Scout Daniel Kaucic said.

Many parade-goers said they appreciate the freedoms those struggles won for most Americans.

David and Kathleen Schmidt of Headquarters Custom Embroidery in Wasilla pleased passersby with a table of free cookies and water stationed along the parade route.

"My dad was in the military and it's important to recognize all they've done for us," Kathleen Schmidt said.

Though her father served at a desk, an effective military requires everyone to do their part, she said.

The cookies were a way for the couple to do their part and support the community, David Schmidt said.

A lone caballero joined cowboys and cowgirls on horseback in the parade. The noisy and colorful motorcycles and classic cars rumbled down the street, while the Valley's farming heritage was represented by antique tractors and children towing wagons with caged hens clucking in alarm.

Clowns alternately delighted and terrified young children, many of whom came prepared with grocery sacks to hoard the candy thrown from floats. Red, white and blue hues were everywhere, from Uncle Sam hats and flags to mohawks and dog bandanas.

Christy Jones watched the parade from her Howlin' Dog 2 Espresso stand, across from the fire station on Main Street. Jones sold coffee, smoothies and Cinnabon rolls to the new stand's longest line of people since its opening this spring.

"We've quadrupled our sales," she said.

Jones was also quick to point out what she feels is more important about the holiday.

"We're celebrating America's independence," she said.

While some may view the Fourth of July simply as a day off from work, Jones believes the way most people choose to celebrate hadn't overshadowed the why of that celebration.

Contact Frontiersman reporter Will Elliott at 352-2252 or will.elliott@frontiersman.com.