Fourth of July Revelers Parade Their Patriotism

Under Technicolor blue skies, Ventura County residents from Thousand Oaks to Ojai marched in parades, guzzled lemonade, blew on kazoos and gobbled everything from fried dough to barbecue in a grand celebration of America’s 221st birthday.

And as the picture-perfect summer day melted into Friday night, patriotic people across the county raised their faces to the sky to watch Fourth of July fireworks explode red, yellow and blue under the stars.

Except in Oxnard, where for the first time in more than 15 years the city canceled its fireworks show because insurance costs were too high.

But plenty of fireworks were on display in Thousand Oaks, where thousands came to the east parking lot of The Oaks mall to watch the popular annual fireworks show.

The day began on a tragic note, when 3-year-old Austin James Walgraeve of Oak View was struck by a motor home after darting into traffic on Old Rincon Highway north of Faria Road about 9:25 a.m., California Highway Patrol officers said.

The driver of the motor home, 71-year-old Lloyd Lamonte Fechser of Carpinteria, swerved to miss the boy, but the vehicle struck Austin at about 40 mph, authorities said.

Austin was airlifted to Ventura County Medical Center with major injuries and was listed in guarded condition Friday night.

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And fire officials had to respond to a minor brush fire in the 140 block of Sundown Road in Thousand Oaks about 5:30 p.m. Smoke was visible from the Ventura Freeway and the Moorpark Freeway.

Six engine companies, two helicopters, two hand crews and a bulldozer made quick work of the blaze, which destroyed about two acres of grass on a hillside without threatening any nearby houses.

The day broke clear and cool, and the Ojai-Santa Barbara Masters Swim Club headed down to the beach in Ventura. By 8:15 a.m., nearly 30 swimmers braved the bracing 68-degree water temperatures and waded into the waves for their first Ventura Pier Swim, which they hope will become an annual event.

The swimmers, accompanied by sea kayaks and their coach, Rick Goeben, swam all the way around the 1,500-foot wooden pier.

Temperatures in Ventura climbed to 76 degrees Friday. The countywide forecast calls for sunny skies through Sunday with highs in the upper 80s and low 90s, said Bruce Rockwell of the National Weather Service.

By midmorning, parents and children--many of them bedecked in red, white and blue--gathered in downtown Ventura at Memorial Park for the Pushem-Pullem parade down Main Street.

The theme of this year’s parade was “Old MacDonald’s Farm.” Children dressed as farm characters squeezed into wagons and wheelbarrows or rode their bicycles for the seven-block trip to Plaza Park.

Suzi Clark, 6, was running a little late. So a family friend carried her patriotically adorned Big Wheel to the start of the parade.

She got there just in time and slid in behind the wheel, flags fluttering from the handlebars, raring to go.

Nearby, in the sea of makeshift farm wagons, Scott McKinley strained to pull a homemade float loaded up with four girls, two haystacks and a whole barnyard full of stuffed animals.

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This is McKinley’s 17th annual parade in Ventura. So he and his crew got ambitious.

“We went to a float this year,” he said. “We were tired of the wagons.”

Kori McKinley, 7 1/2, Katie McKinley, 11, Lizzy Hernandez, 9, and Paty Martinez, 8, sat in the shade of their red, white and blue umbrella as McKinley pulled.

The heavily laden float careened first to the left, then to the right as McKinley picked up speed.

“Well, it’s downhill from here,” he said, leaning into the wind.

One of the smallest marchers was Henry Stevens, 1 1/2, who pushed his own little red wagon with a large American flag. His chubby little legs pumping to keep up with his body, his mother, Elizabeth, caught him by the seat of the pants when he started toddling out of control.

Farther along the route, a motley assortment of merrymakers made their way down Main Street tootling kazoos and other unrecognizable instruments.

It was the city’s very own, totally original Great Ventura All Star Marching Band, which has played in the parade every year since it was founded for the 1976 bicentennial celebration.

Belting out “You’re a Grand Ole Flag,” the only tune they seemed to know, the cacophonous band featured Claire Wilson on kazoo, Steve Angle on the “Slinko-phone” and Tom Boyd on the . . . uh . . . well . . . what is it?

“I don’t know if you can print it,” he said coyly. “It’s just like it sounds.”

He placed his lips on the mouthpiece of the 4-foot silver instrument and blew a deep, low tone. “It’s kind of uncontrollable, like a force of nature,” he said. Kazooer Wilson sported a racy revolutionary outfit, with silver sequins and a tri-cornered hat.

“It’s colonial-influenced bozo-ism with a hint of thrift store,” she said, explaining the style.

Throughout downtown, the smell of fried dough, tamales and tri-tip sandwiches along with the sound of West Virginia bluegrass drifted down the street between the white booths of the Fourth of July Street Fair.

On a mini stage at the corner of Santa Clara and California streets, local dancers showed their stuff.

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Dancing to the tunes of the Pointer Sisters and George Michael, the Seaward Cloggers--ages 6 to 70--tapped their feet and waved their arms.

Shortly afterward, the MacKinnon Highland Concert Dancers, dressed in woolen kilts, leaped vigorously into the air to the penetrating bleat of Scottish bagpipes.

They performed dances such as the Sailor’s Hornpipe, the Highland Fling, the aerobic Sword Dance and the Highland Reel.

Faye Campbell, Ventura’s director of special events, estimated that between 35,000 and 45,000 people flocked downtown for the festivities.

At the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum near Simi Valley, which held its fourth annual Old-Fashioned Family Fourth of July celebration, a cool breeze kicked up about 1 p.m, helping those who gathered forget about the temperature--which hit about 90 degrees.

“There are about 1,500 to 2,000 people here now,” said 68-year-old Lois McCarthy, a museum docent. She and fellow docent Kay Keiser, 77, of Simi Valley, took comfort in the shade.

By day’s end about 5,000 people would pass through the gate, organizers said.

Rick Tucker’s country band entertained the courtyard crowd before the 1st Marine Division Band from Camp Pendleton took over. As Tucker closed out his set with a heartfelt rendition of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” about 15 people stood at the front of the stage waving American flags. Among them was 48-year-old Bobbie Rapoport.

“This is always so emotional for me,” said Rapoport, wiping away tears. “I lost my first husband to Agent Orange after the Vietnam War, and my present husband is a Vietnam veteran,” she said.

“I always cry like this at the end of that song,” Rapoport said.

Greenwood’s song has spawned a grass-roots movement to have it replace “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem. “It hasn’t happened yet, but as much as people love it, it should be the national anthem,” Tucker said.

The Marine band played a concert of patriotic and pop tunes until 4 p.m., and the celebration concluded about 5 p.m.

While the Simi celebration was winding down, The Oaks mall parking lot was filling up with cars and recreational vehicles in anticipation of the annual Thousand Oaks fireworks display.

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Bob Bishop, a Simi Valley resident, stationed his 32-foot motor home facing east toward what locals call Fireworks Hill about 1:30 p.m. Two hours later, he was enjoying a cold beverage after cleaning up the vehicle in anticipation of guests.

“I’ll have about 20 people here in all,” Bishop, 52, said as he cooled off on the steps of the RV. “I’m in charge of the barbecue.”

This was Bishop’s fourth Thousand Oaks fireworks display.

“This is a really fun show. It lasts about 30 to 45 minutes. Everybody has a lot of fun,” he said.

“It’s interesting to see the guys on [Fireworks Hill] when they light the hillside on fire. It’s happened a few times,” Bishop said.

Anna Saucedo, 28, drove to Thousand Oaks from Los Angeles to be with her family for the display of the rockets’ red, white and blue glare. “This show is so colorful,” she said.

The early afternoon heat kept crowds at east county parks at a minimum, but there were still plenty of people perched in front of barbecues.

At Borchard Park in Newbury Park, 45-year-old Armando Rodriguez was using his magic touch to cook the perfect top sirloin steak.

“My secret? Time with it,” he said while attending to a wonderful piece of meat on a charcoal grill.

“You just keep turning it and turning it and turning it until it’s perfect.”

MacGregor is a Times staff writer; Steepleton is a Times correspondent.