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On July 4, 1921, the community went all out to celebrate the nation’s birth along with the county’s birth on July 1st of that year. Sarasota Bay Post #30 of the American Legion planned a something-for-everyone celebration at Crescent Beach on Siesta Key. The Sarasota Times reported 561 automobiles on the beach and thousands of people bathing, picnicking, competing in athletic events, and enjoying music by the Palmetto Band.

A columnist for the paper conveyed the pride felt by the men of Bee Ridge because the first and second prizes in the cowboy tournament had been won by tow of them. Horse races on the beach also attracted a following. The Sarasota baseball team beat Manasota 13-3 in the morning, but lost to Palmetto 6-5 in the afternoon. The Legion Post earned about $500 at the event, a sum which was committed to the construction of a Legion building. A dance at the Golf Club House concluded the day’s festivities. In gratitude for Col. John Hamilton Gillespie’s donation of that facility for the dance, the Legion gave him the flag that had decorated the balcony.

The following year, only a small notice of July 4th activities appeared in the paper, when Kirby Stewart Post #24 in Bradenton took the lead for the region. A dedication of the post’s new home was in the spotlight, with Sarasota’s Dr. Jack Halton, the Vice Commander for the state legion, as the principle speaker.

In 1923, Sarasota Bay Post #30 again sponsored the major community events, this time a Sarasota Beach, north of Crescent Beach. Motorcycle and car races on the beach opened the competitions at 11:00 a.m. The winning Harley-Davidson kicked up the sand at 112 mph, only 3 mph under the world record. A “cracker tournament” attracted local cowboys, a baseball game enticed supporters of the Sarasota team, and fireworks and a dance to the music of Sarasota’s Rainbow Orchestra rounded out the evening.

As the atmosphere of the Land Boom in Florida contributed to the “bigger and better” syndrome in Sarasota, so the Fourth of July celebrations became more elaborate through the early 1920s. By 1924, there was a parade as well as planned festivities at two locations. The American Legion centered its activities at the new fair grounds (site of the former Sarasota Mobile Home Park – adjacent to Payne Park). A parade, led by the Sarasota Band, mayor and city council, began at City Hall (Hover Arcade building) at the foot of Main Street and marched to the fairgrounds. There, athletic competitions were staged, with a baseball game at the new Payne Park ball field.

For those who wanted a beach-side holiday, J.J. Kinsman designed a celebration at his pavilion on Crescent Beach. He offered tug-o’-war, potato races, and bean-shelling and nail-driving contests in addition to the popular motorcycle and horse races.

As a benefit for the American Legion, the Sarasota Theater offered “The Lone Star Ranger.” For 35 cents, a moviegoer could see Tom Mix and his “wonder horse,” Tony, in a Zane Gray story that showed “how a man of iron larruped his way through the dangerous passes of Texan wilderness and drove outlawry to the wall.”

As the economy faltered, so the July Fourth celebrations paled. Multiple groups sponsored smaller events at a greater variety of sites. A holiday that had fostered a community-wide celebration in the early ‘20s came to be observed more individually by the end of the decade.

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