Wow
– does Morgan Hill know how to party, or what?
Wow – does Morgan Hill know how to party, or what?
Thousands of present-day Sons (and Daughters) of Liberty* lined the route of Friday’s Fourth of July parade, waving, applauding and, occasionally, cheering as veterans, mayors and council members, firefighters and bands passed by. According to parade officials, more than 32,000 people watched the parade, not a bad turnout for a city of 34,900.
Morgan Hill has always been a bright spot in Bay Area Independence Day celebrations, with a parade going back as far as 1894 or earlier and foot and bicycle races earlier than that.
We have pointed out, in the past, the hard work that Independence Day, Inc. (IDI) does each and every year to produce two days of events – patriotic sing, street dance, 5K race/walk, parade, festival in the park, pre-fireworks show and the fireworks display itself, plus a golf tournament the week before. The IDI committee, an all-volunteer group, does deserve whatever thanks and appreciation they can get.
However, we also feel that the thousands of people from Morgan Hill, surrounding communities and friends and family from out of town deserve some credit for understanding the meaning of these celebrations, showing up and taking part. If the town’s citizens don’t appreciate parades, festivals and fireworks, the events will go away and our local culture would be considerably poorer.
We also want to thank whoever is responsible for adding “pooper scoopers” to the parade line up.
Independence Day celebrations in many other towns and cities – paid for from city coffers – have been scaled back, partly because of the current budget crisis. Morgan Hill’s party has not. The City of Morgan Hill, as a co-sponsor, does help out with some funding, policing and staffing, but it is IDI that raises the bulk of the $120,000 needed to cover the annual costs.
While private citizens and local businesses and corporations have donated money and services to the cause, IDI still needs more to meet the bills that will inevitably arrive.
- The Sons of Liberty, starring Samuel and John Adams, John Handcock, Paul Revere and others, almost singlehandedly drove the effort to separate from England in the 1770s. In the 1960s and 70s they would have been called “radicals”.
If you and your family enjoyed any part of July 3-4 in Morgan Hill, get out your checkbook and send off your thanks in a tangible form to the world’s most appropriate post office box: IDI, P.O. Box 1776, Morgan Hill, CA 95038-1776. Find out all about IDI and check out 2003 parade winners on www.mhidi.com see pictures of the parade and other July 4 activirtes on www.morganhilltimes.com
