Many have heard the saying, “There’s only one place to spend the Fourth of July in the world – Osceola Mills!”
Some may even still own the circa 1970’s T-shirt that has printed: “I SURVIVED THE 4TH OF JULY – OSCEOLA MILLS FIREMEN CELEBRATION.”
The Independence Day celebration in Osceola Mills is one that has gathered crowds from all over the world each year. It has become a reunion week for many families and friends that grew up and has ties to the community.
The tradition of celebrating the Fourth began 100 years ago by the Osceola Merchants Association at the Fairview Park. The Fairview Park was located just outside Osceola Mills near Stumptown.
For a time in the late teens and roaring 20’s, there were several dances held each week. This was the beginning of the “Big Band Era”.
Many local orchestras would appear at the dance hall. Some of the popular draws were the Morrisdale Miners Band, Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians and Jackson’s Orchestra.
The Merchant Association would provide ice cream, lollypops and peanuts for an annual picnic celebration.
In 1922, Professor Ivan Draf, a tightrope wire walker provided exciting entertainment at Fairview Park.
Professor Draf was an entertainer in Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Show. This marked the first Fourth of July celebration.
The Osceola Mills Firemen took over the Fourth of July tradition as a week-long celebration for the town in 1925.
The carnival was held for four days from July 1 through July 4. The Osceola Mills Fire Company Treasurer was G.B. Gardner Jr. at the time.
He reported a profit of $2,793.23 from booths, stands, shows, games and prizes. There were fireworks held along with bands and orchestras for entertainment.
As the years went on, the main attraction was the carnival that would come to town. The Thompson Brothers Carnival from Altoona was a mainstay throughout the 1940’s until the 1980’s operating the midway.
The town would buzz with the excitement as the rides pulled in and the crews would start setting up on Pruner Street.
The carnival would extend for blocks with the popular rides such as the merry-go-round, Ferris wheel, dive-bomber, kiddie cars, twister, tilt-a-whirl, the octopus and many others.
The firemen would have a large canvas tent where crowds would attend to play bingo for prizes. Every morning the firemen would clean up the corn kernels that were provided to mark numbers and restack the bingo cards.
If rain would happen during the week, there was always a fireman on hand to remove the water from the top of the tents with long broom sticks.
Obviously, there was always the iconic carnival food, such as cotton candy, pizza, hot sausages, snow cones, candy apples, funnel cakes, ice cream and lemonade just to name a few.
When walking down the midway, the smells of the foods and the sounds of the many games are etched in people’s minds.
There would also be the sound of people yelling BINGO! Inevitably, there would also be pranksters in the crowd that would yell BINGO just to get a laugh!
Throughout the years, much has changed in Osceola Mills. One of the things that have not changed is the hard work that the Columbia Fire Company puts into this yearly event.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Fireman’s Fourth of July celebration. Many people will gather along the street of the parade and see familiar faces and recollect the cherished memories of celebrations years ago, while the newer generation can look forward to continuing the tradition and making their own memories.
To this day, it can still be said, “There’s only one place to spend the Fourth of July in the world – Osceola Mills!”
