grandmothesmusings

Once Upon A Time They Were Legal

Having just celebrated the 4th of July, I couldn't help thinking about some of the fireworks that were available to us when I was a child. Firecrackers of course were plentiful, and a source I must ad of maimed fingers & other various serious injurys to the children who through lack of knowledge or the careless handling of them got more than they bargained for when stting them off. Boys used to put them in cans which propelled them quite a distance. I remember some were called ladyfingers, & if memeory serves me, these were smaller versions of the firecrackers. There was also another type of fireworks which exploded when thrown on the cement sidewalk. I think they were called cherry bombs
The one type of fireworks my younger sister & I were allowed to have were called sparklers. They were some type of a wire which had one end you could hold or place in the ground & the other was covered with the part which you lit. When lit,it gave off sparks which flickered & were quite pretty to watch. Our parents monitored their use since even they could cause burns, if one took hold of the end that had been lit, or if it was held too close to one's clothing.
My sister & I thought they were fun & we would move our arms in a circular fashion, creating circles of light with them.

Back east, God has His own little creation in the form of a lightning bug. In the summer,these wonderful little bugs had a little rear end that would light up & go off & on & my sister & I fascinated by them would catch them in glass jars. I have never seen them in this part of the country. I'm sure my two little granddaughters would have enjoyed catching & watching them as did my sister & I.