Transcript — Racine’s 4th of July Parade

Don't close it in the morning

Double you up, JN

Don't close it in the morning

Double you up, JN

Don't close it in the morning

Double you up, JN

Don't close it in the morning

Double you up, JN

JN

Double you up, JN

JN

Double you up, JN

double you up

you have to go through I mean there was guys are precision that

that's precision team oh yeah they do the drill and everything I mean I what do you have to go through to

a job there's a junior core kiltees had a kiltee cadets we the scouts had the junior

core so you'd hone your skills there and then when you were good enough for you aged out of the

younger core you'd advanced to the senior core so you were well practiced by the time

you got to the senior core Jim is here Carol Jim Forte here we're talking about the history

of the receiving 4th of July parade from the 50s and 60s we heard about Carol's buggy

with a little doll buggy with her cray paper Jim with his the boy scout were you with the

boy scouts right yeah scout core scout core right yeah and boy you guys really were into this

stuff oh yeah sure but again after the competition the night before everybody marched

in the following days parade of course and that's what we had so many drama bugle

cores and where did the boys stay that night a lot of them stayed stayed in school

gyms I know we stayed in school gyms and when we were on the road we stayed overnight

in private homes I know my parents took in a boy from the Madison scouts and that was

really good we got to compare notes and and he was my supplier of firecrackers

that that night so your dealer so he gave me a lot of firecrackers then but starting

I think in the mid 70s a lot of these cores folded I don't know if it was a lack of

interest or other things for the boys to do or whatever but and it got to be really

quite expensive to join a core when I was in the scout core all we had to do was I think

pay an initiation fee and then sell Christmas wreaths around the Christmas holidays and that's

the only thing we had to do everything else was was paid for but I don't think that's

the story right now but Carol has a very interesting story about the drama bugle core so

right Carol well living in Carlisle Avenue I have to say a great benefit I don't know selling

a house fee would have put it in but again with no air conditioning and in summer with

the windows wide open it was quite frequently that we could hear that beautiful music just

floating into our homes from Horlick Field there were practices there and then shows and

so it was it was a real real joy but one summer night in August of 1965 I could hear music

and I thought well I'm not doing anything tonight so I could sit here on my front porch and

listen to this music floating over these few blocks well maybe I'll walk down to Horlick

Athletic Field and just listen from from a corner closer over and blowing behold on

Carlisle and High Street was a fellow that I guess I sort of recognized from high school I don't

think I'd ever spoken with them but turns out that he had come to visit an aunt and

uncle in the neighborhood he heard the music so he walked over and the rest is history that

was my husband John look at that 1965 now that 60 years but it was the drum and bugle core

that actually got us together can you imagine that but I bet also you saw people dating

in the course and even marrying did you oh yes yes we did that was that was quite

common you know especially when we were competing with the all girl cores from Milwaukee that

was one from Milwaukee I forgot their name but it was all girl core and a lot of the

recene scouts would you know date some of these girls and some got married yeah so

interesting and the music played on yeah that's true well I would say Jim that mayor's

Spencer and his idea to bring goodwill into a recene through the 4th of July festivities

didn't it really really work that sure did yep and so next time we will before we

forget about it will we live the parade still July yep there were so many things

about the parade and it was a grand parade when we did the in the in person performance

our presentation at the Golden Randell 2 years ago and had the benefit of so many photos

we found out then that our memory of the floats they were not our memories were not

exaggerated maybe it wasn't quite up to the rose ball but these photos especially

from the Arnold family will talk about them next month they were magnificent and

why don't we say we're all the companies tell us about that well we had so many you

know factories and industry and racing and just about all had their own float my

gosh we had Hamilton Beach twin discs the dairies all three dairies at the

time had their own floats different shopping districts uptown had one

downtown Plaza had one if there was an organization in recene they probably had

a float and that's why it was you know something that was just fantastic back then

because it was just and and add the drum a buglecores of course and it was just

non-stop entertainment floats and and bands and drum a buglecores and then we

we of course we had some of the things we have now the what what what was it the

the unicycle a man on the stilts remember those we had a lot of horses back then

I remember because I remember watching for that how about those horses those

Mexican horses that can do the dancing yes yes I mean those are amazing horses

yeah right that's fantastic yeah yeah everybody's got memories of the

Fourth of July mine is my mother for some reason as protective as she was let me

play with firecrackers for some reason I don't know why she let me play with

them I remember we were playing with him I didn't know the firecracker ahead of my

hand got lit so I'm covering my ears and I look at it and it's lit and as I

go at the throat it goes off and my fingers separate and I said at least all

there I was worrying about that I never touched another firecracker it scared me

yeah well I said that's it I'm done well it is kind of amazing supposedly all this

is illegal and then you've opened on the highways and huge signs about buying fire

well and you see what goes on here at North Beach they have the real fireworks the

license fireworks but it's like everybody's bottle rockets fireworks going off

on the hill yeah and the cops can't keep up with it all because first

old pitch dark you don't know where they're coming from yeah but if somebody's in their

back you're doing it I see the cops come over try to stop them yeah what do you

tell us what you what do you have that live show you coming up yeah oh yeah

we're we're very excited about it we are going to be not that this isn't live but

go ahead yeah well this is important done this this this is this we're very

lucky to be here but every once in a while we make ourselves get up in front

of people in person and so on August 25th we will be grateful to use a search

a church sanctuary a large sanctuary on you know to accommodate a lot of

people living faith Lutheran church on right avenue and we will be doing a

semi-repeat of Washington park pool but with a great a brand new adaptation of

every one of the photos which brings them really to life so it's going to be

centered very much around exciting new photos now jumping off the island

the park pool jumping off the island and hitting somebody underneath

after you did the other presentation my wife and I went down there yeah yeah take a look at

what it is today much left now nothing left yeah and you can see where the pool was

covered up filled in yeah but to look at it it's hey day oh no and then look at it I

know it it's it's the way it is today yeah but you know time change things get old

and you gotta move on oh yeah and we have to balance that as we reminisce these

wonderful memories but life is good today even if the tennis courts are sinking

you know it's so good but again what we're adding is the beach yep all three

we lived at the beach of what what were they Jim North Beach of course zoo beach

and we had the 14th Street Beach which was no longer in existence but that was

always a fun place to go for if you were a South citer you probably went to this

14th Street Beach we're going to be talking all about that plenty of photos

and the personal experiences anecdotes it'll be a great time in person and the

admission price is free look at that free now do you make a reservation to just show

up no there's enough space that we don't need reservations again that's August 25th

and that's what day of the week Monday Monday and Monday August 25th

plenty of parking at that church yeah yep what time is it 6.30 the doors open

okay you might have a special guest too might be you never know yeah can the audience

possibly guess a lot of people leave town around that kind of that time

yeah there might be there might be okay so part two of this is coming up a month

from this week around here yeah the actual parade itself yeah that's real

out of fun and I thank you guys for coming in our love

now people say I missed it I forgot they were coming up we'll have the podcast up

our late today or probably early tomorrow fantastic how's that all right sounds

good all right eight o'clock thank you Jim Jim Monsieur and Carol G in

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