posted by Mike Madison at 9:19 AM /
[For the first post in this series, click here.]
I promised that Chapter Two of "Hidden Mt. Lebanon" would be "living with fear" -- that is, dealing with the profound anxiety, fear, and anger that swirls below the placid surface of the cauldron of our little town. But there's a holiday coming up, and I'd rather write about the positive today.
Hidden Mt. Lebanon lesson number two: The best community party of the year takes place at the high school on July 4, before and during the fireworks show.
I'll start with a confession: The Fourth of July is my second favorite holiday -- Thanksgiving is #1 -- and it's one of the few that comes with a built-in excuse to celebrate publicly, with a lot of people that you don't necessarily know. As a child, I used to go to the Fourth of July parade in Redwood City. When our kids were young and we lived in Oakland, we would drive up to Piedmont on the Fourth and watch a perfectly silly parade. The highlight was the Lawn Chair Drill Team. When we moved to Mt. Lebanon, we arrived on July 1. Right away, we went looking for something similar.
We found it at the high school. Lebo has no parade on the Fourth, but we do have something that serves just as well as community glue: the fireworks show. Because Western PA is home to the Zambelli family, and probably for other reasons, lots of communities in the area have great fireworks on the Fourth. I don't know how Mt. Lebanon compares on that score, and where there is the promise of a great fireworks show, lots of people gather. So Mt. Lebanon may not be special on this score either (or on others -- another Hidden Mt. Lebanon chapter to come!). But I do know that if we're in town on the Fourth, we're at the high school in the evening, along with thousands of other people.
The fireworks are terrific (and loud!), but there's also a palpable and visible sense of community all around you. We walk to the show, accompanied by dozens of neighbors. We spread out on lawn chairs and blankets and beds of pickup trucks. The party spreads up on to Washington Road and down below the main parking lot; there are satellites at Markham and probably other places. Unlike high school football games, where some people in the stands want to watch the game while others simultaneously use the evening for socializing, at the fireworks show the action is neatly divided into "before" and "during." "During," you have no choice but to watch and/or listen to the action in the sky. "Before," however, is all strolling and chatting and playing with the kids and watching them play. This is Mt. Lebanon at its least self-conscious and most comfortable, neighbors and friends enjoying each others' company.
Happy Fourth, everyone. If you want to see me on Wednesday evening (fireworks start at 9:30), I'll be wearing a blue ball cap with a white "Y" on the front.
I promised that Chapter Two of "Hidden Mt. Lebanon" would be "living with fear" -- that is, dealing with the profound anxiety, fear, and anger that swirls below the placid surface of the cauldron of our little town. But there's a holiday coming up, and I'd rather write about the positive today.
Hidden Mt. Lebanon lesson number two: The best community party of the year takes place at the high school on July 4, before and during the fireworks show.
I'll start with a confession: The Fourth of July is my second favorite holiday -- Thanksgiving is #1 -- and it's one of the few that comes with a built-in excuse to celebrate publicly, with a lot of people that you don't necessarily know. As a child, I used to go to the Fourth of July parade in Redwood City. When our kids were young and we lived in Oakland, we would drive up to Piedmont on the Fourth and watch a perfectly silly parade. The highlight was the Lawn Chair Drill Team. When we moved to Mt. Lebanon, we arrived on July 1. Right away, we went looking for something similar.
We found it at the high school. Lebo has no parade on the Fourth, but we do have something that serves just as well as community glue: the fireworks show. Because Western PA is home to the Zambelli family, and probably for other reasons, lots of communities in the area have great fireworks on the Fourth. I don't know how Mt. Lebanon compares on that score, and where there is the promise of a great fireworks show, lots of people gather. So Mt. Lebanon may not be special on this score either (or on others -- another Hidden Mt. Lebanon chapter to come!). But I do know that if we're in town on the Fourth, we're at the high school in the evening, along with thousands of other people.
The fireworks are terrific (and loud!), but there's also a palpable and visible sense of community all around you. We walk to the show, accompanied by dozens of neighbors. We spread out on lawn chairs and blankets and beds of pickup trucks. The party spreads up on to Washington Road and down below the main parking lot; there are satellites at Markham and probably other places. Unlike high school football games, where some people in the stands want to watch the game while others simultaneously use the evening for socializing, at the fireworks show the action is neatly divided into "before" and "during." "During," you have no choice but to watch and/or listen to the action in the sky. "Before," however, is all strolling and chatting and playing with the kids and watching them play. This is Mt. Lebanon at its least self-conscious and most comfortable, neighbors and friends enjoying each others' company.
Happy Fourth, everyone. If you want to see me on Wednesday evening (fireworks start at 9:30), I'll be wearing a blue ball cap with a white "Y" on the front.
Labels: Fourth of July, hidden Mt. Lebanon
12 Comments:
What a lovely post, Mike.
But no comments?
Ahh...you'll get more action when you blog about anxiety, fear and anger. Sigh...
Well said Linda. I'm sure many of the followers of this blog believe that Mt. Lebanon cannot or should not undertake the financial burden of the 4th of July Celebration, while still others probably doubt the accuracy of our nation's events in and around 1776 which give us reason to celebrate in the first place. Either way, it is upsetting that we are so quick to pounce on the negative, and so slow to share our comments on the positive.
Mike, this post brought back so many great memories of my 40 years in Mt. Lebanon. When I was growing up on Park Entrance Drive, our street (like many) was barricaded for a block party. (Today's traffic hawks never would have stood for such gridlock.) On Park Entrance we had our own parade. Everyone, including the adults, would decorate their bikes and we would ride up and down the street to the applause of many onlookers. Somehow I don't see the kids of today taking the time to weave red, white and blue streamers through the spokes of their tires.
One of my fondest memories was the 1976 Bicentenial Celebration when the time capsule was buried in the small park just above the High School. I'm sure many of the newer residents to Mt. Lebanon don't even know the time capsule is there. Unfortunately, none us of will be around to see it opened in 2176, but inside there's a great picture of my parent's bright yellow convertible VW bug and a picture of my 2nd grade class from Washington Elementary. There was a great deal of pomp and circumstance surrounding the time capsule and the fireworks display that night was legendary.
Another great memory is of the ground fireworks that Zambelli used to set off in the Stadium and on the Rock Pile. I can remember the illuminated Navy ships lobbing red fire balls onto enemy ships that would then fizzle out and sink. Great stuff. I'm sure such displays are wildly expensive these days (and the insurance riders and additional premiums are likely out of this world). I agree though, Mike, there was nothing like the crowd around the High School on the 4th.
Perhaps the disappearance of the ground displays led to the many satellite viewing sites that now exist around town. When my wife and I bought our first house on Salem Dr in 1992 we discovered we had a bird's eye view of the fireworks. This, of course, gave us the perfect excuse for a party. And so it was for the next 13 years. The party quickly grew from about 15 high school buddies to about 100 folks, including the same high school buddies, their spouses, their children, co-workers, grandparents, you name it. At our last party in 1995 we had over 40 kids all under the age of 12. What fun!
Incidentally, as the years went by and some of the trees grew larger, our view from the side yard became slightly obstructed. A few of my buddies often discussed an IC Light-induced commando mission every July 1 to "eliminate" the offending trees, but cooler heads prevailed and we moved the viewing area to the street.
When we moved to Pinetree Rd. two years ago, the most pressing issues facing our 3 children were (a) what will happen to the party, and more importantly, (b) where will we watch the fireworks?? Unfortunately, without the lure of hassle-free fireworks viewing, the party has fizzled. (Instead, we've resorted to an adults only party the following week). We also learned that most folks from the new neighborhood perch themselves on the playground and in the adjacent lawn at Jefferson Elementary. This has been enjoyable, and there exists the same sense of community, albeit on a much smaller scale.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the great festivities in the Park that have also lasted for decades. I chuckle when my kids are playing the same ring toss game that I did 30+ years ago. No doubt some wonderful residents made all of these games in their garages (and made them well), and they have provided much enjoyment for several generations. I still look forward to the dunking machine. I have gone from the kid in the bathing suit waiting anxiously to be dunked to the parent handing out the dollar bills so my son can throw another ball. While I could do without the less traditional limo rides around Mt. Leabanon and the Moonwalk, the Park on the 4th is a great way to spend some quality time with your kids and neighbors.
So kudos to you Mike for recognizing the great community spirit on the 4th, and kudos to Mt. Lebanon for maintaining these wonderful traditions for decades. God Bless America!
One satellite is the community of Sunset Hills residents that gathers at the pinnacle of Mt Lebanon Golf Course. Pre-fireworks, the flow of people up the hill always reminds me of an Amish barn raising. As the sky darkens, the children run around, roll down the hill, chase fireflies and have a grand time. And once the festivities begin, we see not only Lebo's fireworks but all of the surrounding community's efforts as well spread across the horizon on all sides. It is a marvelous neighborhood event.
The best seats in the house used to be at the edge of the field below the Rock Pile, next to the tennis courts. There's a slight slope from where the courts end down to level with the softball field, which gives you a perfect view of the sky if you're laying down.
The real fun came when the people sitting further up, closer to the softball infield, suddenly realized that the prevailing wind meant that they were ground zero for low-detonation fireworks. Schadenfreude, I suppose, but it was funny. Too bad the MLFD put the kibosh on.
Matt:
One summer during my college years, a bunch of us thought it would be great to sit on the small baseball field next to the tennis courts. Within minutes we discovered that we were being showered with still-hot (and often flaming) fireworks shrapnel. It added a whole new interactive component to viewing the fireworks.
Mike: Happy Fourth to you, your familty and our fellow Mt. Lebanites. The Fourth is a great Community day. And we should not let the day go by without acknowleding the contribution of Blog-Lebo. I read something this morning about a gentleman who had a "pronounced contempt for unreasoned authority." Could have been Madison, but turns out it was it was John Hancock. You are in good company.
What's with the "Y" on the hat?
Dave ~
Thanks for the great memories!!! I have been wondering about that time capsule having forgotten when it was to be opened and wondering if anyone in Mt. Lebanon had any idea it was up there. I know my class at Jefferson also put something in there (can't remember what though) I LOVED those ground displays at the fireworks...wonder what it would cost to bring them back???? Even if they had just one. I remember the ship display too!
Take heart with Pinetree (I grew up there - 771) the fact it is a deadend lent itself to giving the kids the ability to do all sorts of things without the need for a block party barricade. We had a few impromptu bike parades on the Fourth and went through a few phases of drawing (chalk) or even painting (!!) on the street (not necessarily on the Fourth). In the 70's at Blue Spruce there were various pictures of Snoopy and other characters painted on the street and at the deadend baseball bases painted on the curbs (1st and 3rd) with homeplate right in front of the telephone pole (center to the deadend)and 2d base in the middle of the street. We also had a "Four Square" area painted by the sewers in front of 771. Maybe with the guidance of a few parents you can build new traditions. Before Scott TownCenter etc came in we also had a system of paths and quite a few forts (both tree house and underground) back in "the woods".
Thanks for jogging a lot of great memories, Mt. Lebanon is a unique community. Its up to our generation to keep up the traditions and make sure they don't get lost. It was (is) a great place to grow up.
Happy Fourth to Everyone!!!!
Bill et al.,
There's no secret to the hat, but find me in person today and say "hi" -- and all will be clear! ;-)
Thanks for the comment, and happy Fourth to all.
Mike
One more memory . . .
Back when the Paul Shannon Show encouraged kids to send in for their how to have a Carnival kit (if I recall correctly the charity was CARE), we had many "Carnivals" at the various houses/garages on Pinetree. These basically ended up being big swaps of toys from one household to the other as kids would see what treasures they could find for a few cents. I myself found a "great" peanut butter maker that made a disgusting mess. Games were big too like ring toss and one particular memory will never fade. . .
My dad, chemist with US Steel, beach towel wrapped around his head, his safety glasses (which back then were the black rim Buddy Holly type) with aluminum foil on the inside, eyes cut out . . . giving kids their fortunes.
Depending on his mood (or yours), the "Y" means either "Yale" or "Yinzer".
We're in for the night and skipping the fireworks, but had a lovely afternoon watching tennis and walking Aldo through the crowds up at the Midway at the HS.
Will somebody please kill those 2 trees that ruined the view last night at Markham?
After missing the garage sale (got the message after it was over), I was planning on heading over to the HS and looking for the Y-hat, and any other BlogLebanese that might be hanging around, but I just had too much work to do and stayed home to write (my dissertation). :-\
Maybe we need a BlogLebo picnic for labor day?
ps - Anyone who was in the Lebo Library last Friday might have seen me.
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