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First taking place in 1830, the annual Pekin
Fourth of July celebration
is billed as the "Oldest Consecutive Fourth of July Celebration
in the U.S.A." This year, 2006, will mark the 176th anniversary.
Among the noted speakers over the years have been
members of Congress, governors, college presidents, judges,
ministers and teachers. Programs have traditionally featured entertainment
and band music, including the ever-present "Spirit of 1776 Band."
In 1958, the first Fourth of July queen was selected. She was Sandra Lane.
Presently,
the celebration includes many different parts.
There is a hot-air balloon race, a fireworks display,
a 3 on 3 basketball tournament, a parade, a carnival, food vendors,
live entertainment, a prince and princess contest,
and a queen contest. But the
celebration wasn’t always so complex.
As
stated, the first celebration in Pekin
was in 1830.
For the first 3 years the
celebration was held at the homes of 3 different families.
It mainly consisted of family picnics and meeting up again with old
friends.
Then, in 1883, the
was formed and was located where the
Because of disagreements of where to have the celebration
(at the land presently known as the
there were 2 separate celebrations held that year.
In 1884, however, an agreement was reached and Pekin
became united in having bigger and better celebrations.
In 1952 the
with the purpose of “bettering” the community.
In 1954 the
Pekin
is now known as the
the tradition, and have been in charge of it ever since.
Also in 1954 the Pekin Community Betterment Organization
became Incorporated as a non-profit, non-commercial,
non-sectarian, and non-partisan organization.
So, since 1954, the Pekin Community Betterment Organization, Inc. (PCBO)
have put forth countless hours of work for the benefit of the community.
No history of the pekin Fourth of July
Celebration would be complete without
mentioning the noteworthy parades. In early years,
when many people came in by train, a group would meet the train
and the parade would start from there. Now, the parade is the main event
of the day, boasting classic autos, trucks, floats of every description, bikes
and horseback riders.
Please take the time to stop by the Pekin
Betterment Organization
booth on the Pekin Park grounds and thank them and their members for their
extensive work and effort put forth each year to make the event a success.
The following are scenes from days gone by:
First Queen, Sandra Lane
First Bandstand
1945 Wartime parade, featuring
tanks from Fort Knox
The Spirit of 76 Band
Pekin American Legion Color Guard
