Born on the 4th of July

I always heard it snowed the day I was born. I always said I came out with a bang.  Independence Day baby – ya, that is me.   Independent!!!  Patriotic!!! The date couldn’t have been more appropriate.

When I think of my birthday, I remember how everyone in the Centennial Valley always went camping.   Friends from Idaho came, too, as well as friends of everyone else. Can’t begin to estimate how many.  We’d go on the 3^rd & leave on the 5^th.  Rain or shine & it didn’t always shine.  Didn’t matter what day of the week they were.  

I remember dad complaining because he hated to go camping (too much sleeping on the ground in the Army) & Andrew Forsythe helping mom load stuff in the pickup because dad had suddenly found something else he needed to do.  The two mattresses always went in the back of the pickup first, then the picnic table & benches (upside down), the fire grate inside the picnic table, and finally “the grub” box filled with all the dry goods for the two days.  This also had the white and red trimmed enamel box (that Lori stole) with the mix & match silverware that mom had painted with red fingernail polish +o+ on for identification purposes.   Early on it was tent and tent poles.  Then we got fancy & actually got a tent with poles that folded up.

Until the early 80’s when the property was sold, we went up Odell Creek above Lakeview.  I remember watermelon and Shasta pop keeping cold in the creek, mosquito spray, walking up the road to the bridge that was washed out and poker games – partying all night.  Huge parties!!! Singing around the campfire (John Denver - Country Roads Take Me Home to the place I belong – Centennial Valley, Lima, Montana – Country Roads Take Me Home) and a battery operated 8 track player (with dad doing the shimmy) and the tall grass tromped in the morning from all the dancing.  Whiskey was the drink of choice for the parents.  Shasta pop for us.     Again, there was lots of partying.    As we got older, I remember one time that the parents left us and went to Lima for the big dance at the Peat Bar because the band from Roberts was playing.  I remember them strolling in around daylight.    (When the valley stopped going camping on the 4^th, there were a few Peat Bar 4^th of July dances I danced at.)

I remember breakfast over the campfire with the huge frying pans and then washing of the silverware with water heated from the fire. Everyone brought salads and fried chicken for lunch on the 4^th - tacos for supper on the 3^rd. 

The actual day of the 4^th was the one time of the year that we actually got to go swimming in a swimming pool at Lakeview.  We could hardly wait.  

Somewhere along the way I got to open some birthday presents & mom drug dad from the poker game to sing Happy Birthday.  As I got older we had birthday cake a few days later when we got home.  Cake of choice – Angel Food or the Poppyseed cake that Eileen Jones made. 

Still to this day, going to be 46 years later, camping is where I want to be on my birthday.  (Hebgen Lake the camp of choice).

Comments

[jaymee]

Happy Birthday Lynda! Hope you guys have a great time!

[sydney]

Yep...a bang! And your Mom had to miss camping! Those were the days. Homemade ice cream too. Can't re-create those days. Darn....but pretty sure that group was tough!