Holiday Concerts Honor Veterans, Truckers : Festivals, Fireworks Mark Lavish Fourth

The Fourth of July inspired parades, picnics, clanging bells and summer festivals Saturday across the nation.

Big events included the Boston Pops concert and fireworks show along the Charles River, a triathlon from the Statue of Liberty in New York to the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, a “welcome home” concert for Vietnam veterans near the nation’s capital and lavish displays of fireworks in hundreds of cities.

President Reagan used part of his weekly radio address to wish the nation a happy Fourth of July.

“It’s a time to enjoy ourselves with friends and family, watch the fireworks and perhaps reflect a bit on the meaning of it all,” the President said.

At country singer Willie Nelson’s annual picnic in Carl’s Corner, Tex., about 100 people had to be treated for heat-related illnesses as temperatures rose into the 90s at the site on a 174-acre field.

Dedicated to Truckers

“Welcome to Willie What’s-His-Name’s picnic,” Nelson told the crowd as he opened the show with his trademark, “Whiskey River,” in a show that he dedicated to the nation’s truckers.

Police estimated that 20,000 to 25,000 people were on hand by mid-afternoon to hear the 30 acts scheduled to perform before the show closed at midnight.

For some, the day was clouded by reminders of violence and prejudice.

In Murfreesboro, Tenn., Ku Klux Klansmen gathered for a rally to celebrate the original U.S. Constitution, which did not permit blacks to vote, and klan members handed out candy from a float in Cumming, Ga., seat of mostly white Forsyth County, the scene of civil rights protests earlier this year.

One death was reported in connection with Fourth of July festivities. A 20-year-old woman who was watching fireworks in Springdale, Pa., was struck by a train and died Friday night.

A snake-sacking festival in Washington went ahead despite protests from environmental and animal-rights groups, and the sponsors promised that the snakes would be given their freedom when it was all over.

Fire Truck Rides

A turtle race was part of a variety of Fourth of July events in Nebraska, which included fire truck rides in Kimball, a beard contest in Howells and a re-creation of the 1856 presidential debate between John C. Fremont and the eventual winner, James Buchanan, in Fremont.

On Kaskaskia Island, the only Illinois township west of the Mississippi River, the ringing of the “Liberty Bell of the West” commemorated the town’s capture in 1778 by patriots under George Rogers Clark, which brought Illinois under American control.

The Mississippi Queen beat the smaller Delta Queen across the finish line in St. Louis after an 11-day race up the Mississippi River. A large crowd turned out under sunny skies to see the two paddle-wheelers arrive.

200 Become Citizens

At the St. Louis VP Fair, an annual Fourth of July bash, more than 200 people from 57 nations became American citizens in a mass naturalization ceremony.

Festivities in Miami included a fund-raising concert in memory of Ronnie DeSillers, the 7-year-old boy who died in April after three unsuccessful liver transplants.

At Miami Veterans Administration Hospital, 72-year-old Clarence Riley Bess received a Silver Star for bravery during the siege of Bataan and a Bronze Star for being one of the participants in the Death March in World War II. Bess’ records had been lost but were recompiled by a friend.