"Fourth" Celebration on July 4th, 1927

  
Happy Birthday America
and we pray God Bless Us.

The 4th of July Celebrations held in Marion long ago must have been a grand event and enjoyed by many.  It's been many, many years since such a celebration has been in our little town of Marion.  From the files of The Crittenden Press here are some exciting things that happened on that July 4th, 1927.

The big Independence Day celebration staged Monday, July 4th, by the American Legion, and Ellis B. Ordway Post No. 111, was attended by probably the largest crowd that has been in Marion for a number of years.  

The entire program was staged in Cooks Park and started with the raising of a flag on a pole that had been erected for the occasion on the highest part of the grounds.

One of the best features of the day was the music by the American Legion band, with played patriotic airs and other selections thruout the day. 

A number of stands had been erected in various parts of the grounds and from them were sold cold drinks, sandwiches, candy, cigars and other miscellaneous articles.

Several hundred people were served at the noon hour with a barbecue dinner served cafeteria style.

A baseball game between the legion baseball team of Marion and a Morganfield team was played.  The game was a thriller for the local fans.  The final score was five to three in favor of Morganfield.

A larger crowd was pesent in the evening to witness the display of fireworks than at any other time during the day.  The display included rockets in many colors, a number of noise making devices, dozens of designs in different shapes and colors including the "Niagara Falls" the American Flag and a special Good Nite piece.  

The crowd was estimated at twenty-five hundred to witness the big fireworks display.