The Fourth of July, also known as Independence Day or July 4, has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941.
The tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution. On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence. This historic document was drafted by Thomas Jefferson.
From 1776 to the present, July 4 has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with festivities ranging from fireworks, parades, concerts, to more casual family gatherings.
Canton Herald, June 29, 1961-Such a Special celebration is scheduled Tuesday, July 4th by the Canton Fire Department after a barbecue and picnic at the Canton City Park.
According to Chick Chaney, program chairman, two baseball games are being scheduled. One game will be played between the local boys’ team and out of town team. Chaney told the Herald that the firemen are trying to arrange a white-colored girls, 10 to 15 years of age, game also.
On June 21, I completed one of the most eye-opening and rewarding experiences that I have ever had as I finished a six-month term serving as the foreman for the Van Zandt County Grand Jury.
When I received my jury summons soon after the Christmas holidays in early January, I did not pay a whole lot of attention to the “fine print” on the summons notice.
I knew that I had an appointed time and date to report to VZC District Judge Teresa Drum’s court for what I thought at the time was going to be a petit jury trial selection.
When I arrived in the district courtroom at the VZC Courthouse in Canton, myself and 40 other individuals who showed up that day were informed by the judge that the selection involved picking individuals to serve on the VZC Grand Jury.
Out of the 40 citizens present in the courtroom, VZC District Judge Teresa Drum announced that there would be 12 individuals and two alternates that would be chosen to serve on the VZC Grand Jury.
By Sandra Roberts Jones Van Zandt County Genealogical Society
Canton Herald, June 22, 1961: Wills Point T&P Railway office was burglarized early last Friday morning and six first-class mail pouches were taken in the burglary, according to chief of police Grady Barnard who investigated the burglary.
Mail was taken off of an east bound train about 11 o’clock Thursday night and deposited at the T&P office. The crime was apparently committed between that and 5:30 a.m. Friday morning when Maurice McKnight, mail carrier arrived to pick up his mail pouches, Mr. Bernard said. Immediately Mr. Bernard, Deputy Sheriff Gerald Waters of Edgewood and Miss Rebecca Sewell, postmaster were notified in the investigated session began. Later that morning postal inspector W. F. Hansen of Tyler arrived on the scene.
The burglar or burglars gained entry through the front door which the hasp of the lock had been cut clear off and the lock left intact.
Things have been rolling on at a pretty good clip since June 12, 2016. That is the day I started walking. I mean really walking. I have not been sick, and went from weighing 254 to 145. My blood pressure was a scary 204/105. Now that is serious. Today it varies for 94/50 to 130/60. All this is good stuff for an 85-year-old guy.
During the last couple of years, the cord on my chainsaw got too hard to pull, so I put it in a garage sale. The starting cord on the weedwhacker got harder and harder to pull, so my wife, Ann, started doing the weed whacking. Getting up from sitting got harder and harder. I have lost much of my arm strength plus the ability to stand up after a long sitting spell.
Canton is the Walking Capital of Texas and Van Zandt is the Walking County of Texas.
Texas A&M AGRILIFE EXTENSION has invited us to walk 832 miles across Texas from border to border. So, let’s “JUST DO IT,” as they say.
Walking across Texas by yourself would take a long time and so it just isn’t going to happen. However, we Van Zanters have a habit of stepping up to difficult challenges.
Two years ago, I formulated a new recipe based on one that I saw online for mashed potatoes and turnips. Charles, my better half, and I didn’t like it very much. Therefore, my desire to create a better recipe was my inspiration.
Since the texture of the finished dish was what turned us off, I determined that the reason for this was that potatoes cook quicker than turnips due to their denseness. To resolve this issue, I simply cut the turnips into pieces much smaller than the potatoes. We loved my recipe redo.
Canton Herald, June 8, 1961: Grand Re-Opening of the Service Café in Canton will be held Saturday, June 17 under the ownership of Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Fincher. The Fincher’s purchased the café affected last Monday from Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Rushing of Van. Harvey Fincher, cashier at the First National Bank, will become assistant manager of the service Café after July 15, according to Curtis Fincher. Mr. and Mrs. Fincher are not strangers in the Cafe business in Canton, having operated the Service Café since the war up until they sold out to the Rushings over a year ago. The café close last Monday to be completely remodeled before its re-opening Saturday Mr. Fincher invites the people of Canton to come by Saturday and drink a cup of coffee on the house.
Lately while formulating recipes, I’ve been thinking outside the box about things to cook inside a crock—a Crock-Pot®, that is. To be technically accurate, I should say slow cooker as Crock-Pot® is a trademarked name brand and not a common name. In other words, a Crock-Pot® is a slow cooker, but not every slow cooker is a Crock-Pot®.
If you’re like me, then you probably own more than one slow cooker. In my arsenal of small kitchen appliances, I employ an army of these stalwart soldiers. In fact, six currently bunk every night in my cabinet. Incidentally, four of these have the name Crock-Pot® emblazoned on their chests.
May is National Salad Month, and there’s no denying I love salads. With a plethora of dressings from which to choose, an ordinary green salad can be transformed in numerous ways merely by changing the type of dressing that you drizzle on it.
