Photo by: N.L. Belardes
One Bakersfield Woman's Blog to Mankind
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
A Volcanic 4th of July
Many years ago, when I was a young girl, several of my cousins and I were spending the summer with my grandparents on their farm.
It was the 4th of July and the older boys had an idea to make a volcano in which to set fireworks off in. A volcano, which would erupt with Whistling Pete’s and other fireworks. It was the grandest idea we’d had all summer!
We tagged along as the older boys snuck into the barn and found a piece of wood, a pipe about two feet long, a bag of cement and some wire mesh with which to construct our volcano.
We weren’t allowed to play in the barn where the farm equipment was kept. If grandpa found out that we had taken things from the barn, we’d all get our butts tanned. But being on the farm meant survival and freedom from city life, freedom from our parents, so we climbed haystacks and tractors and hid grandpa’s work truck from him. It was all in good fun. Besides grandpa could never stay mad at us grandkids for very long, he loved us too much.
We kept watch as the older boys constructed the volcano. First the pipe was attached to the piece of wood and resembled the remains of my stolen yard fountain.
Next they attached the wire mesh around the pipe and mixed the cement thickly applying it to the wire mesh and pipe shaping it like a mountain. They carried their creation, one boy on each side walking slowly, and hid it behind the barn letting it bake and harden in the sun all day.
That night as the family gathered outside for fireworks, the cement volcano was ready to erupt. The older boys proudly brought out their volcanic creation and dropped the first shooting streaming firework into the pipe hole in the top of the volcano cement mountain, lit it and watched the volcanic firework eruption with pride in their eyes.
Their grand volcano idea worked!
It was the best homemade firework erupting volcano ever!
Of course we all got in trouble for taking the cement from the barn. But grandpa didn’t stay mad too long… he was blinded by our volcanic 4th of July genius.
Happy 4th of July everyone!
Many years ago, when I was a young girl, several of my cousins and I were spending the summer with my grandparents on their farm.
It was the 4th of July and the older boys had an idea to make a volcano in which to set fireworks off in. A volcano, which would erupt with Whistling Pete’s and other fireworks. It was the grandest idea we’d had all summer!
We tagged along as the older boys snuck into the barn and found a piece of wood, a pipe about two feet long, a bag of cement and some wire mesh with which to construct our volcano.
We weren’t allowed to play in the barn where the farm equipment was kept. If grandpa found out that we had taken things from the barn, we’d all get our butts tanned. But being on the farm meant survival and freedom from city life, freedom from our parents, so we climbed haystacks and tractors and hid grandpa’s work truck from him. It was all in good fun. Besides grandpa could never stay mad at us grandkids for very long, he loved us too much.
We kept watch as the older boys constructed the volcano. First the pipe was attached to the piece of wood and resembled the remains of my stolen yard fountain.
Next they attached the wire mesh around the pipe and mixed the cement thickly applying it to the wire mesh and pipe shaping it like a mountain. They carried their creation, one boy on each side walking slowly, and hid it behind the barn letting it bake and harden in the sun all day.
That night as the family gathered outside for fireworks, the cement volcano was ready to erupt. The older boys proudly brought out their volcanic creation and dropped the first shooting streaming firework into the pipe hole in the top of the volcano cement mountain, lit it and watched the volcanic firework eruption with pride in their eyes.
Their grand volcano idea worked!
It was the best homemade firework erupting volcano ever!
Of course we all got in trouble for taking the cement from the barn. But grandpa didn’t stay mad too long… he was blinded by our volcanic 4th of July genius.
Happy 4th of July everyone!
Labels: 4th of July, Bakersfield, California Central Valley, eruptions, farm, fireworks, volcano
this is a great story. happy 4th!!