 | Faye Graves, a native Wichitan, attended school at Friends and Wichita State, concluding at Midwestern Theological Seminary. He has been active in media for many years with Channel 12, KIRL, KFDI, KOOO AM & FM (Omaha), KFRM & KICT 95, as an owner, manager, producer, director and announcer. He has served as President of the Haysville Board of Education. He has also served on several national boards of the Southern Baptist Convention. Faye currently serves as Executive Pastor and Director of Administration and Education at Immanuel Baptist Church, 1415 S. Topeka, Wichita. You may contact Faye by e-mail fmgraves@amenibc.org, or by phone at (316) 262-1452. |
Nostalgia
2010-06-01 10:14:00
Remember...
What do you remember about Julys and when you could shoot off fireworks in the city?
Answer: Oh those fireworks…when I was a boy…back in the late 30’s and early 40’s, I remember when it was not illegal to shoot fireworks in the city before, during and after the 4th of July. It’s hard to believe today, but there were Julys when you could do that and not get ticketed or arrested. We used to buy the Roman candles and roll them down the ground on the driveway. It was exciting to go to the fireworks stands and buy our firecrackers. My friends and I would spend all day shooting as many firecrackers as we could. At night, we would go out on the front porch and have our own fireworks display and watch all the neighbors as they enjoyed the evening.
I will never forget the day during this period when my dad was driving our family and a guest to Branson, Missouri. Our guest in just simple conversation said "Son, I hope you enjoy shooting fireworks, because I am going to propose that they make shooting fireworks in the city limits illegal." We laughed then. Now most have now been deemed illegal. We had never considered or thought about this being a problem. Now whether or not he was the one who got it done, I don’t know, but the law was eventually put into effect. Now you can only set off your fireworks in certain areas and can only use the ones you bought in your town or where you live. If you really want to see the big ones explode, you must pay to go to a professional fireworks show as we used to do at Joyland or view the show put on by the city.
July was also a good month to just sit on the porch and get acquainted with the neighbors. Before television, we had a close relationship with our neighbors. Today there are neighbors we don’t even know. Some talk about the "good ol’ days." Some were good and some were not. There was no air conditioning. You used a fan in your hand. To cool off more, you put on your swimming suit and your parents showered you with the water hose. Sometimes, the family would sleep on the front porch just to get some air. We had picnics more outside than we do now. Taking a car ride when gasoline was just 15 cents a gallon was something we did quite frequently as well.
I still look forward to the 4th of July, but now, with our military stationed at many points in the world, and thinking about their sacrifice, I know more about what it really means. I think of the history of this special day when the Declaration of Independence was signed. This day celebrates our freedom and salutes our great United States.
Have a cool, "booming" month of July.
Faye Graves, a native Wichitan, attended school at Friends and Wichita State, concluding at Midwestern Theological Seminary. He has been active in media for many years with Channel 12, KIRL, KFDI, KOOO AM & FM (Omaha), KFRM & KICT 95, as an owner, manager, producer, director and announcer. He has served as President of the Haysville Board of Education. He has also served on several national boards of the Southern Baptist Convention. Faye has served as Executive Pastor and Director of Administration and Education at Immanuel Baptist Church of Wichita. You may contact Faye by e-mail fayegraves@sbcglobal.net or by phone at (316) 524-3906.
