There are a couple of errors in the story below -- the July 3rd celebrations lasted in to the early sixties, and then were resumed in 1975. The Presbyterian Church closed in 1965, but the building remained in use by the community until 1996, when it burned to the ground on the coldest night of the year. I don't know if the celebrations have contined.
From Betty H. Murphy's History of Meridian: a Bicentennial Project, 1976
"Third of July Night" has historical significance in Meridian, New York. For more than seventy five years, until about twenty years ago, this date signified fun and conviviality for the people of Meridian and the community near by.
"Third of July Night" has historical significance in Meridian, New York. For more than seventy five years, until about twenty years ago, this date signified fun and conviviality for the people of Meridian and the community near by.
On this evening the Class in the Corner of the Presbyterian Church traditionally sponsored an Ice Cream Social and Band Concert in front of their chuch in the center of the village. On this evening, boys looked forward to meeting girls, old friends gathered to visit and chat, and "Meridianites" returned to their home village to sit on the chairs and in their cars on the street in front of the church while the band on a raised platform played John Philip Sousa numbers -- the most popular.
One of the bands which returned several times to play at this annual event was the Fair Haven band, a group of old and young who used to give a concert every Saturday night during the summer at Fair Haven. The tuba player was named Charlie Wright, a huge man with a huge horn. When he played the tuba near the back of the platform, youngsters were entraced with the puffing and and out of his huge cheeks and his bulging eyes watching the director. When the crowd liked a number, they applauded and blew their horns. The better they liked the number, the longer the toots!
...Before the commercialized ice cream industry, ladies and men worked one or two days making homemade ice cream in big hand cranked freezers. The flavors where vanilla, chocolate, lemon and sometimes strawberry.
Before fireworks were illegal, children with small fire crackers ran around Bloomfield's lawn lighting small fire crackers. The bigger "kids" shot bigger fireworks from the triangle where Ferris Road (Oswego Street) comes into Main Street.
In the early 1900's, an anvil was placed in the road on the same triangle. In the small crevice in the inner section of the anvil, the gentlemen placed gun powder. Slid into the crevice was as long an iron pipe as could be found. Inside the iron pipe was placed a fuse. At the outer end of the pipe, J.D. Bloomfield would light the fuse. Everyone cleared the immediate area and listened and watched for the huge BANG which occurred whtn the gun powder exploded inside the anvil.
Before the days of the automobile, people came to the festivities in their Democrat wagons and buggies. Horses were left in the sheds behind the church.
Third of July Night" was always the opening ceremony of two days of fun in Meridian. On the day after the Ice Cream Social and Concert, a tournament of three baseball games was held at the baseball diamond east Sproul's home. Earlier baseball diamonds were on a flat just north of the village on the right and on the Shortcut Road just south of the village on land then owned by Fred Mott.
The morning game featured Meridian against Baldwinsville or Red Creek or Weedsport. At the first game in the afternoon, of seven innings, two more entries fought it out and the two winners played the final game. Everyone went -- and cheered Meridian on to the victory which they usually won.
...Following the baseball tournament, there was dance in Merritt's Hall on the evening of July 4th -- round and square.
During prohibition years, after the dance at Merritt's Hall, three of the baseball players were arrested by Sheriff Had DeGroff as they went over Butter Factory Hill in their touring car. They were stopped, their baseball bags searched, and then arrested because of rhubarb wine that the sheriff thought was in the young men's car. They admitted that they had had it at the Merritt's Hall dance, hidden behind a tree. They had taken many of their friends out for a "nip" but when they went to get the wine after the dance, it was nowhere to be found -- and it was not in their car.
The young men were told to appear in court at Auburn, New York, and not being used to being in trouble with the law, called in a mentor and advisor to go with them. The case was dismissed because there was "no evidence." Where did it go?
Another July 3rd story is of a time in about 1900 when Charles Eldred, Fred Gregory and two other boys took blankets and food to the Baptist Church for the purpose of staying there all night. Their plan was to keep the church bell ringing after midnight -- on July 4th. They rang it every few minutes beginning at 12:00 o'clock.
Sometime after midnight, the local teacher, Stella Burke, became upset by the continuous ringing. Her mother was very ill and the ringing disturbed her. Stella was the church organist and had a key to the church. She went to the church in the dead of night, climbed the stairs to the belfry, and confronted the boys. Since she was also the boys' teacher at school, they were accustomed to her authority, and they did as she told them. They took their blankets and food and went home.
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