INDEPENDENCE DAY

For some reason Steve and Betty’s adopted hometown, the little town of Clare, had the biggest 4th of July celebration in all of Webster County. This tradition must have gone way back. A few years ago I was at an antique show in Iowa City where there was a postcard vendor who had old cards from all over Iowa.  The cards were sorted alphabetically by town. There were lots of cards from Fort Dodge. That is where I bought the illustration of Betty’s birthplace on Central Avenue shown below and also in the May 11 post.

The postcard vendor had just a couple cards from Clare. They were not actual scenes from the town, but generic pictures of flowers with “Greetings from Clare,” written across the front.  But there was something even better than a post card. There was a ribbon from the Grand Celebration at Clare, IA. dated July 3, 1897. At the time I debated about spending the $10 or $20 that the vendor was asking for the ribbon. But today I am glad I did.  Here is a photo of the ribbon along with a ribbon commemorating the Clare Band Reunion August 1 and 2, 1895 (Notice all the Irish names).  More on Clare’s 4th of July celebration in the next post.