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| Celebration in East Liverpool by Joan Witt. |
Through the years, the people who have lived in this area have found reason to celebrate. Those celebrations have been for many different reasons and they really started with the first families in the area.
Let's talk about a few of them now:
The first gatherings and reasons for celebrating were simply when all of the folks gathered together since they lived on tracks of land and did not necessarily see their neighbors often. When it was grinding day at the mill back in the days when Tom Fawcett owned the flour mill. When the folks gathered from all around, the men went to the mill and did that kind of labor. The ladies gathered together to talk, swap stories and talk about the ills of their children, perhaps even to help one another with quilting or sewing projects. When all of the grinding was done, then the food was put out and there was a feast for all to enjoy! During the work sessions, the children no doubt would get together to play and hunt berries or maybe the teenagers would find places to go by themselves for long walks.
At the end of the day, all would be happy, full and ready to go back to their own homes with the idea that they would gather again. Perhaps the same type of feast would be available when the young folks got married.
In 1805 the town had a 4th of July Celebration that was really quite big affair! There were speeches and a gathering of all in the community. During the proceedings, things must have gotten out of hand as the lawyer, William Larwell ended up shooting off one of his whiskers.
There is nothing in print as the town did not have a newspaper at the time, but in 1834 the city of East Liverpool officially came into being. At that time, the fractional sections of St., Clair Township were set aside as "Liverpool: township and the name was given to East Liverpool. We had been known as Liverpool but now that they were going to be East Liverpool since there was a town by the name of Liverpool in Medina County. ( That town has disappeared from the map as a town, it is a section one of the communities in Medina. Whatever, that was the first time that East Liverpool was used to refer to our town!
In 1876 There was a big celebration all over the United States on the 4th of July as that was the 100th Anniversary of our Country. During the year there was the Exposition of 1876 where all of the leaders of industry showed off their wares, and many of the potteries in this town were well represented. That exposition was held where else but Philadelphia.!
Here in East Liverpool the folks of town had quite a gathering- there were games for the children, speeches for the adults and plenty of food for all. Here in Liverpool a cannon which had been in the Civil War was set off. The newspapers of the day announced the next day that there was an explosion and a young lad by the name of Wilson lost his right arm. Another child lost his life but his name was not recorded!
In 1898 the Elks Club in East Liverpool was in charge of the city celebration in honor of the arrival of Thomas Fawcett and family. I have not found the date of this celebration but have seen many pictures of the parade. In the Diamond they made a large archway in which people could walk through. The parade or parades used West 5th Street, the Diamond and Broadway from at least 3rd to 4th Street!
At the end of the Spanish American, World War One and Two there were large groups of people who walked in the streets and shouted and mingled about When the 'boys" came back there were large parades to honor all of the veterans.
In 1934 the City Celebrated the Centennial of the organization of the city. At that time, all of the activities were centered around one week in October. The Review published a six part newspaper on the history of the city. They brought writers and editors in from all of the other newspapers in the chain. They had a large parade. They honored the veterans, the new machinery, the accomplishments of the community. There was a Costume Ball, they sold centennial pins.
In 1984 during the Sesquicentennial we also held many activities in the month of October to follow the 1934 example.., We had souvenirs, had a History of the City published" The City of Hills and Kilns" we had a gathering in the Diamond, a Concert, a Pageant. We had "Minutes in History" on the Radio and publish the first of the Historical Calendars..!
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