I grew up in Jackson, Michigan, and for me memories of celebrations of the Fourth of July are inextricably tied to memories of the Cascades.
For those unfamiliar with this lovely attraction in my hometown — it’s a massive fountain, a spectacular waterworks built on a hillside in one of the city’s parks. Its displays run throughout the summer season, but on the Fourth, it becomes the setting for the fireworks display.
The Cascades carries lots of wonderful memories for me. Including my beginning awareness of color combinations — for I always thought orange and green were a difficult combination to pull off well.
On either side of the waterworks are walkways that climb the hill, lots of stairs. And there was usually spray from the large side fountains on each main level, so you could be certain of getting dampened (at the very least) if you wanted to make the climb from the front level to the hilltop.
But the rotation of lighting effects as well as the sound of the water (often accompanied by previously recorded music or by performances from live musicians) is the principal attraction of the place.
Dusk would come, followed by dark, and the beauty of the thing weaves its charm around you.
Whether monochrome or not….
But on the Fourth, the waterworks became the staging ground for the fireworks.
My father would gather us together, often taking a picnic supper along, and the pop tent, so we could sit sheltered from the mosquitoes until the fireworks display. We would suitably Oooooah and Aaaaaaw.
These were my earliest memories of Fourth of July celebrations. For an ideal setting, there’ve been few places that have seemed better to me than that of Jackson’s.
