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Hollyhock Lane Fourth of July Celebration, Grand Rapids, MI, July 4, 1969 (speech not given)
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Hollyhock Lane Fourth of July Celebration, Grand Rapids, MI, July 4, 1969 (speech not given)
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The original documents are located in Box D27, folder "Hollyhock Lane Fourth of July
Celebration, Grand Rapids, MI, July 4, 1969 (speech not given)" of the Ford Congressional
Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
HOLLYHOCK LAND REMARKS
7/4/69
[Grand Rapids
not given]
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN; BOYS AND GIRLS, A HAPPY
FOURTH OF JULY TO YOU. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE THOUGHT
ABOUT IT IN JUST THIS WAY, BUT THIS IS A BIRTHDAY PARTY.
IN FACT, WE ARE CELEBRATING TWO BIRTHDAYS HERE TODAY.
EVERYBODY HERE IS 35 YEARS OLD. BECAUSE WE'RE ALL PART
OF THE
WONDERFUL TRADITION OF THE HOLLYHOCK LANE
PARADE, WHICH STARTED 35 YEARS AGO; AND EVERYBODY HERE IS
193 YEARS OLD, YES, 193, BECAUSE
WE ARE ALL
2/
PART OF THE WONDERFUL
NATION KNOWN AS
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BORN EXACTLY 193 YEARS AGO.
FIRST OF ALL TODAY LET US SALUTE THE CALVIN-GIDDINGS
PATRIOTIC ASSOCIATION FOR CONCEIVING THE IDEA OF THIS
FINE FOURTH OF JULY PARADE, NOW THE OLDEST JULY 4TH PARADE
IN KENT COUNTY. AND LET USI PAY TRIBUTE TO
GEORGE
VRUGGINK (VROO-GINK), THE
LAST SURVIVING MEMBER OF
THE GROUP WHICH ORIGINATED THE PARADE IN 1934.
I FIRST MARCHED IN AND SPOKE AT A HOLLYHOCK
LANE PARADE 21 YEARS AGO, so GEORGE VRUGGINK GOES BACK
Digitized from Box D27 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
3/
A LOT FARTHER THAN I DO. I'M GLAD THERE IS SOMEBODY HERE
OLDER THAN I AM.
SERIOUSLY, LET'S THINK A MINUTE OF WHAT GEORGE
VRUGGINK AND HIS FRIENDS WERE SAYING TO GRAND RAPIDS,
TO KENT COUNTY, TO
THE REST OF THIS COUNTRY AND TO THE
CAME UP WITH
WORLD WHEN THEY
THE HOLLYHOCK LANE PARADE IDEA IN
1934.
I THINK WHAT THEY WERE SAYING IS THAT ALTHOUGH THE
UNITED STATES IN 1934 WAS GRIPPED BY A TERRIBLE DEPRESSION
4/
WITH MILLIONS
OF PEOPLE GOING TO BED HUNGRY EVERY
NIGHT, THIS WAS STILL THE HEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO
LIVE IN. HOW MUCH HARDER IT WAS TO SAY THAT THEN THAN
IT IS NOW, WHEN MOST OF US ARE ENJOYING AN ABUNDANCE OF
MATERIAL THINGS
FOR
YOU TEENAGERS IT'S JUST HISTORY, IF
YOU THINK ABOUT IT AT ALL BUT IN 1934 OUR ENTIRE NATION
WAS CRIPPLED, ECONOMICALLY.
5/
BOYS FROM THE CITIES WERE WORKING IN THE WOODS,
WORKING IN THE C.C.C.
CAMPS FOR A FEW DOLLARS A MONTH
JUST TO PUT FOOD INTO THEIR MOUTHS AND SEND A LITTLE
MONEY HOME TO
HELP OUT THEIR FOLKS AND THE
REST OF THE FAMILY.
SEEMS UNBELIEVABLE NOW, DOESN'T IT? NOW IN THIS
6/
GREAT COUNTRY OF OURS MANY SKILLED JOBS ARE
GOING
BEGGING. THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS SPENDING
MILLIONS OF DO ILARS A YEAR TO TRAIN THE UNEMPLOYED AND
THE
UNDEREMPLOYED TO FILL THOSE JOBS.
BUSINESSMEN, HERE IN GRAND RAPIDS AND ELSEWHERE IN THE
COUNTRY, ARE JOINING HANDS WITH THE GOVERNMENT TO GIVE
THESE PEOPLE TRAINING ON THE JOB. PAY THEM WHILE THEY
LEARN, MAKE THEM USEFUL CITIZENS DESERVING OF THEIR OWN
RESPECT AND THE RE SPECT OF OTHERS.
7/
WE
LOOK ABOUT US TODAY AND WE SEE
AT LEAST ONE AND MAYBE TWO OR MORE CARS PARKED ABOUT OUR
GOOD HOMES. WE SEE HEALTHY, WELL-FED CHILDREN IN MOST
OF OUR AREAS. WE ENJOY THE COMFORTS OF THE GREATEST
STANDARD OF LIVING EVER EXPERIENCED BY MEN AND WOMEN
AND CHILDREN ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
AND WE SHOULD BE MOVED TO SAY THANK GOD FOR
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BUT THERE IS FAR MORE TO BE THANKFUL FOR THAN
MERE MATERIAL COMFORTS. THE GREATEST GIFT WE HAVE IS
8/
THAT WE WERE BORN FREE. WHAT A GLORIOUS GIFT FREEDOM
IS! THIS WAS THE
GIFT BESTOWED UPON US WHEN
A HANDFUL OF
COURAGEOUS MEN GATHERED
TOGETHER 193 YEARS AGO AND DECLARED THAT THE COLONIES
ESTABLISHED IN THIS COUNTRY WERE FREE AND INDEPENDENT
AND WERE CUTTING THEIR TIES WITH ENGLAND, THEIR MOTHER
COUNTRY. THIS WAS THE GIFT WE RECEIVED WHEN THE FRAMERS
OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE DECLARED THAT "ALL
MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, THAT THEY ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR
CREATOR WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS...'
2/
LATER
OURI INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS
WERE SPELLED OUT
A
IN OUR FEDERAL CONSTITUTION,
IN THE
BILL OF
SOME
RIGHTS. WE ALL KNOW WHAT THOSE FREEDOMS ARE.
AMERICANS TAKE THEM TOO LIGHTLY BECAUSE
THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO
EARN THEM. A FEW AMERICANS TODAY DON'T WANT TO DEFEND
THEY ARE
THOSE FREEDOMS
THANK GOD
FEW IN
NUMBER.
SOMETHING WE
SHOULD ALL REMEMBER TODAY IS THAT
11
TH FREEDOM TO SWING OUR ARMS ENDS WHERE THE OTHER
10/
=
FELLOW'S NOSE BEGINS.
LET US BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FREEDOMS FOR OUR
INDEPENDENCE. .FOR ONE OF THE MOST SPLENDID ACTIONS
IN ALL HISTORY TAKEN 193 YEARS AGO WHEN 56 MEN PLEDGED
THEIR LIVES, THEIR FORTUNES AND THEIR SACRED HONOR IN
SUPPORT OF THE STRUGGLING NEW NATION KNOWN AS THE
FORD
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
TODAY THERE ARE THOSE WHO SAY WE ARE A SICK
NATION. THEY ARE WRONG. WE ARE A GROWING COUNTRY, A
CHANGING
COUNTRY, A DYNAMIC COUNTRY. WE ARE MAKING
11/
TREMENDOUS
PROGRESS
TOWARD THE GOALS SET FORTH BY
OUR FOREFATHERS.
MORE SOCIAL WRONGS HAVE BEEN RIGHTED IN THE LAST
DECAIE AND A HALF THAN WERE CORRECTED IN THE MORE THAN
90 YEARS BETWEEN THE
END OF THE CIVIL WAR AND THE
MILESTONE YEAR OF 1954, A MILESTONE IN THE HISTORY OF
RACIAL JUSTICE.
TODAY ANY YOUNG MAN OR WOMAN WHO REALLY WANTS TO GO
TO COLLEGE CAN DO so. FINAN CIAL HELP IS
AVAILABLE FROM
12/
WIDE
A
VARIETY OF SOURCES.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NOW IS INVESTING THREE
TIMES AS MUCH IN HEALTH PROGRAMS AS IT DID FIVE YEARS AGO.
A GENERATION OR TWO AGO
MANY
OF YOU YOUNG
PEOPLE HERE TODAY WOULD HAVE
DIED FROM SUCH DISEASES AS SCARLET FEVER OR DIPHTHERIA.
IN VIETNAM.
FIVE
FORD
TODAY WE ARE
AT WAR BUT JUST
YEARS
GERALD
AFTER THE FIRST HOLLYHOCK LANE PARADE THE WORLD
EXPLODED INTO GLOBAL CONFLICT, AND JUST SEVEN YEARS AFTER
THAT FIRST
HOLLYHOCK LANE PARADE THE UNITED STATES
13/
DRAWN
WAR II.
WAS
INTO
WORLD
TODAY THERE'S
A GOOD BET WE CAN AVOID
A THIRD WORLD WAR
AND
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOUR
GOOD
BELIEVE
YEARS THERE IS
REASON TO
WE CAN END THE VIETNAM
WAR ON AN HONORABLE BASIS.
IT HAS BECOME
FASHIONABLE FOR SOME SPEAKERS TO
BUT ONLY
CRITICIZE OUR YOUNG PED PLE TODAY. a A
SMALL
FRACTION OF OUR YOUNG PEOPLE
HAVE LOST THEIR WAY.
14/
WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT
A
FOR THE MOST PART, WE HAVE A COMMITTED AND A COMPASSIONATE
YOUNGER GENERATION WHO WANT TO IMPROVE
THIS COUNTRY,
YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BUILD AND MAKE THIS COUNTRY BETTER,
NOT
TEAR IT DOWN. THEY WANT TO BUILD ON THE OLD
REVOLUTION, NOT START A NEW
ONE.
THEY ARE
THANKFUL THAT THEY LIVE IN A FREE
FORD
AMERICA AND PARTAKE OF THE BOUNTY
OF THIS GREAT
GERALD'A
LAND
OF OURS.
THEY KNOW THAT THE DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IS NOT
A SOMETIME THING AND THAT IT TAKES WORK TO PRESERVE IT.
15/
so TODAY LET US TAKE OFF OUR HATS TO THE PAST BUT LET US
BE
TAKE
OFF OUR CO ATS TO THE FUTURE.
LET BY
THE MAGNIFICENT
ACHIEVEMENTS OF YESTERDAY, BUT
LET us ALSO
TRANSLATE OUR INSPIRATION INTO
so THAT
WILL
ASPIRATIONS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOUR DEMOCRACY
FLOURISH.
WE MUST HOLD HIGH THE BANNER OF FREEDOM AND UPHOLD
THE DIGNITY OF MAN.
16/
DO NOT LISTEN TO THE FALSE VOICES THAT CALL
PATRIOTISM OLD-FASHIONED OR WORSE. BE PROUD TO BE
AN AMERICAN. BE PROUD TO BE CALLED A PATRIOT BECAUSE
THAT MEANS YOU LOVE YOUR COUNTRY ABO VE ALL ELSE.
LET US TODAY SEEK THE REAL MEANING OF THIS
INTEPENDENCE DAY IN OURHEARTS. LET US
FORD REKINDLE OUR LOVE OF COUNTRY, COURAGE WITH CONVICTION,
GERALD
ESVOTION TO DUTY ANDPASSION FOR JUSTICE. LET US
CELEBRATE THE FOURTH OF JULY EACH AND EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR.
######
7/4/69 Grand
HOLLYHOCK LANE REMARKS
Rapids
not given
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN; BOYS AND GIRLS. A HAPPY FOURTH OF
JULY TO YOU. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU VE THOUGHT ABOUT IT JUST
THIS WAY, BUT THIS IS A BIRTHDAY PARTY. IN FACT, WE ARE
CELEBRATING TWO BIRTHDAYS HERE TODAY. EVERYBODY HERE IS
35 YEARS OLD BECAUSE WE RE ALL PART OF THE WONDERFUL
TRADITION OF THE HOLLYHOCK LANE PARADE, WHICH STARTED 35
YEARS AGO, AND EVERYBODY HERE IS 193 YEARS OLD, YES, 193,
BECAUSE WE ARE ALL PART OF THE WONDERFUL NATION KNOWN AS
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BORN EXACTLY 193 YEARS AGO.
FIRST OF ALL, TODAY LET US SALUTE THE CALVIN-GIDDINGS
PATRIOTIC ASSOCIATION FOR CONCEIVING THE IDEA OF THIS FINE
FOURTH OF JULY PARADE NOW THE OLDEST JULY 4TH PARADE IN FORD
KENT COUNTY. AND LET US PAY TRIBUTE TO GEORGE VRUGGINK
LIBRARY
(VROO-GINK); THE LAST SURVIVING MEMBER OF THE GROUP WHICH
- 2
ORIGINATED THE PARADE IN 1934.
I FIRST MARCHED IN AND SPOKE AT A HOLLYHOCK LANE PARADE
21 YEARS AGO SO GEORGE VRUGGINK GOES BACK A LOT FARTHER
THAN I DO. I'M 1' GLAD THERE IS SOMEBODY HERE OLDER THAN I AM.
SERIOUSLY, LET'S THINK A MINUTE OF WHAT GEORGE VRUGGINK
AND HIS FRIENDS WERE SAYING TO GRAND RAPIDS, TO KENT COUNTY,
TO THE REST OF THIS COUNTRY, AND TO THE WORLD WHEN THEY CAME
UP WITH THE HOLLYHOCK LANE PARADE IDEA IN 1934.
I THINK WHAT THEY WERE SAYING IS THAT ALTHOUGH THE UNITED
STATES IN 1934 WAS GRIPPED BY A TERRIBLE DEPRESSION WITH
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE GOING TO BED HUNGRY EVERY NIGHT, THIS WAS
STILL THE BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO LIVE IN. HOW MUCH
HARDER IT WAS TO SAY THAT THEN THAN IT IS NOW, WHEN MOST OF
US ARE ENJOYING AN ABUNDANCE OF MATERIAL THINGS.
FOR YOU TEENAGERS IT'S JUST HISTORY, IF YOU THINK ABOUT
IT AI ALL BUT IN 1934 OUR ENTIRE NATION WAS CRIPPLED ECONOM
- 3- 3
ICALLY.
BOYS FROM THE CITIES WERE WORKING IN THE WOODS, WORKING
IN THE C.C.C. CAMPS FOR A FEW DOLLARS A MONTH JUST TO PUT
FOOD INTO THEIR MOUTHS AND SEND A LITTLE MONEY HOME TO HELP
OUT THEIR FOLKS AND THE REST OF THE FAMILY.
SEEMS UNBELIEVABLE NOW DOESN'T IT? NOW IN THIS GREAT
COUNTRY OF OURS MANY SKILLED JOBS ARE GOING BEGGING. THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR
TO TRAIN THE UNEMPLOYED AND THE UNDEREMPLOYED TO FILL THOSE
JOBS. BUSINESSMEN HERE IN GRAND RAPIDS AND ELSEWHERE IN THE
COUNTRY ARE JOINING HANDS WITH THE GOVERNMENT TO GIVE THESE
PEOPLE TRAINING ON THE JOB PAY THEM WHILE THEY LEARN, MAKE
THEM USEFUL CITIZENS DESERVING OF THEIR OWN RESPECTIAND THE
RESPECT OF OTHERS.
D.R.FORD.LID
WE LOOK ABOUT US TODAY AND WE SEE AT LEAST ONE AND MAYBE
-4-
TWO OR MORE CARS PARKED ABOUT OUR GOOD HOMES. WE SEE HEALTHY,
WELL-FED CHILDREN IN MOST OF OUR AREAS. WE ENJOY THE COMFORTS
OF THE GREATEST STANDARD OF LIVING EVER EXPERIENCED BY MEN
AND WOMEN AND CHILDREN ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
AND WE SHOULD BE MOVED TO SAY
THANK GOD FOR THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA.
BUT THERE IS FAR MORE TO BE THANKFUL FOR THAN MATERIAL
COMFORTS. THE GREATEST GIFT WE HAVE IS THAN WE WERE BORN
FREE. WHAT A GLORIOUS GIFT FREEDOM IS! THIS WAS THE GIFT
BESTOWED UPON US WHEN A HANDFUL OF COURAGEOUS MEN GATHERED
TOGETHER 193 YEARS AGO AND DECLARED THAT THE COLONIES
ESTABLISHED IN THIS COUNTRY WERE FREE AND INDEPENDENT AND
WERE CUTTING THEIR TIES WITH ENGLAND, THEIR MOTHER COUNTRY.
THIS WAS THE GIFT WE RECEIVED WHEN THE FRAMERS OF THE DECLAR-
ATION OF INDEPENDENCE DECLARED THAT "ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL
THAT THEY ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAIN UNALIEN-
ABLE RIGHTS "
OUR INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS WERE SPELLED OUT LATER IN OUR
FEDERAL CONSTITUTION, IN THE BILL OF RIGHTS. WE ALL KNOW
WHAT THOSE FREEDOMS ARE. SOME AMERICANS TAKE THEM TOO
LIGHTLY BECAUSE THEY DIDN T HAVE TO EARN THEM. A FEW
AMERICANS TODAY DON'T WANT TO DEFEND THOSE FREEDOMS.
THANK
GOD THEY ARE FEW IN NUMBER.
SOMETHING WE SHOULD ALL REMEMBER TODAY IS THAT THE FREE-
DOM TO SWING OUR ARMS ENDS WHERE THE OTHER FELLOW'S NOSE
BEGINS.
LET US BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FREEDOMS FOR OUR INDEPENDENCE
FOR ONE OF THE MOST SPLENDID ACTIONS IN ALL HISTORY TAKEN
193 YEARS AGO WHEN 56 MEN PLEDGED THEIR LIVES, THEIR FORTUNES
AND THEIR SACRED HONOR IN SUPPORT OF THE STRUGGLING NEW
-6-
NATION KNOWN AS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
TODAY THERE ARE THOSE WHO SAY WE ARE A SICK NATION. THEY
ARE WRONG. WE ARE A GROWING COUNTRY, A CHANGING COUNTRY, A
DYNAMIC COUNTRY. WE ARE MAKING TREMENDOUS PROGRESS TOWARD
THE GOALS SET FORTH BY OUR FOREFATHERS.
MORE SOCIAL WRONGS HAVE BEEN RIGHTED IN THE LAST DECADE
AND A HALF THAN WERE CORRECTED IN THE MORE THAN 90 YEARS
BETWEEN THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR AND THE MILESTONE YEAR OF
1954, A MILESTONE IN THE HISTORY OF RACIAL JUSTICE.
TODAY ANY YOUNG MAN OR WOMAN WHO REALLY WANTS TO GO TO
COLLEGE CAN DO SO. FINANCIAL HELP IS AVAILABLE FROM A WIDE
VARIETY OF SOURCES.
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NOW IS INVESTING THREE TIMES AS
MUCH IN HEALTH PROGRAMS AS IT DID FIVE YEARS AGO. A GENERA-
TION OR TWO AGO MANY OF YOU YOUNG PEOPLE HERE TODAY WOULD
LIBRARY
-7-
HAVE DIED FROM SUCH DISEASES AS SCARLET FEVER OR DIPHTHERIA.
TODAY WE ARE AT WAR IN VIETNAM. BUT JUST FOVE YEARS AFTER
THE FIRST HOLLYHOCK LANE PARADE THE WORLD EXPLODED INTO
GLOBAL CONFLICT AND JUST SEVEN YEARS AFTER THAT FIRST
HOLLYHOCK LANE PARADE THE UNITED STATES WAS DRAWN INTO WORLD
WAR II. TODAY THERE'S A GOOD BET WE CAN AVOID A THIRD WORLD
WAR. AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOUR YEARS THERE IS GOOD
REASON TO BELIEVE WE CAN END THE VIETNAM WAR ON AN HONORABLE
BASIS.
IT HAS BECOME FASHIONABLE FOR SOME SPEAKERS TO GRITICIZE
OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY. BUT ONLY A SMALL FRACTION OF OUR
YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR WAY. WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT
FOR THE MOST PART WE HAVE A COMMITTED AND A COMPASSIONATE
YOUNGER GENERATION WHO WANT TO IMPROVE THIS COUNTRY, YOUNG
PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BUILD AND MAKE THIS COUNTRY BETTER, NOT
TEAR IT DOWN. THEY WANT TO BUILD ON THE OLD REVOLUTION NOT
START A NEW ONE.
THEY ARE THANKFUL THAT THEY LIVE IN A FREE AMERICA AND
PARTAKE OF THE BOUNTY OF THIS GREAT LAND OF OURS.
THEY KNOW THAT THE DEFENSE OF FREEDOM IS NOT A SOMETIME
THING AND THAT IT TAKES WORK TO PRESERVE IT. SO TODAY LET
US TAKE OFF OUR HATS TO THE PAST BUT LET US TAKE OFF OUR
COATS TO THE FUTURE. LET US BE INSPIRED BY THE MAGNIFICENT
N EVEMENTS OF YESTERDAY, BUT LET US ALSO TRANSLATE OUR
INSPIRATION INTO ASPIRATIONS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS SO THAT
DEMOCRACY WILL FLOURISH.
WE MUST HOLD HIGH THE BANNER OF FREEDOM AND UPHOLD THE
DIGNITY OF MAN.
FORD
DO NOT LISTEN TO THE FALSE VOICES THAT CALL PATRIOTISM
LIBRARY
-9-
OLD-FASHIQNED OR WORSE. BE PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN. BE
PROUD TO BE CALLED A PATRIOT BECAUSE THAT MEANS YOU LOVE
YOUR COUNTRY ABOVE ALL ELSE
LET US TODAY SEEK THE REAL MEANING OF THIS INDEPENDENCE
DAY IN OUR HEARTS. LET US REKINDLE OUR LOVE OF COUNTRY
COURAGE WITH CONVICTION, DEVOTION TO DUTY, AND PASSION FOR
JUSTICE. LET US CELEBRATE THE FOURTH OF JULY EACH AND EVERY
DAY OF THE YEAR.
GERALD
--FOR RELASE ON DELIVERY
Friday, July 4, 1969
Remarks by Rep. Gerald R. Ford at the 35th annual Hellyhock Lane Fourth of July
celebration, 9 a.m. Friday, July 4, 1969, at Grand Rapids, Michigan
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls. A Happy Fourth of July to you. I
don't know if you've thought about it just this way, but this is a birthday party.
In fact, we are celebrating two birthdays here today. Everybody here is 35 years
old
because we're all part of the wonderful tradition of the Hollyhock Lane
parade, which started 35 years ago; and weverybody here is 193 years old, yes, 193,
because we are all part of the wonderful nation known as the United States of
America, born exactly 193 years ago.
First of all today let us salute the Calvin-Giddings Patriotic Association
for conceiving the idea of this fine Fourth of July parade, now the oldest July
4th parade in Kent County. And let us pay tribute to George Vruggink, the last
surviving member of the group which originated the parade in 1934.
I first marched in and spoke at a Hollyhock Lane parade 21 years ago, so
George Vruggink goes back a lot farther than I do. I'm glad there is somebody
here older than I am.
Seriously, Let's think a minute of what George Vruggink and his friends
were saying to Grand Rapids, to Kent County, to the rest of this country and to
the world when they came up with the Hollyhock Lane parade idea in 1934.
I think what they were saying is that although the United States in 1954
was gripped by a terrible depression with millions of people going to bed hungry
every night, this was still the best country in the world to live in. How much
harder it was to say that then than it is now, when most of us are enjoying an
abundance of material things.
For you teenagers it's just history, if you think about it at all But
in 1934 our entire nation was crippled, economically.
Boys from the cities were working in the woods, working in the C.C.C. Camps
for a few dollars a month just to put food into their mouths and send a little
money home to help out their folks and the rest of the family.
Seems unbelievable now, doesn't it? Now in this great country of ours
many skilled jobs are going begging. The federal government is spending millions
of dollars a year to train the unemployed and the underemployed to fill those jobs.
GERALD LIBRARY
2
Businessmen here in Grand Rapids and elsewhere in the country, are joining hands
with the government to give these people training on the job pay
them
while
they
learn, make them useful citizens deserving of their own respect and the respect
of others.
We look about us today and we see at least one and maybe two or more cars
parked about our good homes. We see healthy, well-fed children in most of our
areas. We enjoy the comforts of the greatest standard of living ever experienced
by men and women and children anywhere in the world.
And we should be moved to say thank God for the United States of America.
But there is far more to be thankful for than mere material comforts. The
greatest gift we have is that we were born free. What a glorious gift freedom is!
This was the gift bestowed upon us when a handful of courageous men gathered
together 193 years ago and declared that the colonies established in this country
were free and independent and were cutting their ties with England, their mother
country. This was the gift we received when the framers of the Declaration of
Independence declared that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their creator with certain unalienable rights
"
Our individual freedoms were spelled out later in our federal Constitution,
in the Bill of Rights. We know what those freedoms are. Some Americans take
them too lightly because they didn't have to earn them. A few Americans today
don't want to defend those freedoms
Thank God they are few in number.
Something we should all remember today is that the freedom to swing our
arms ends where the other fellow's nose begins.
Let us be thankful for our freedoms
for our independence
for one of
the most splendid actions in all history taken 193 years ago when 56 men pledged
their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor in support of the struggling
new nation known as the United States of America.
Today there are those who say we are a sick nation. They are wrong. We
are a growing country, a changing country, a dynamic country. We are making
tremendous progress toward the goals set forth by our forefathers.
More social wrongs have been righted in the last decade and a half than
were corrected in the more than 90 years between the end of the Civil War and the
milestone year of 1954, a milestone in the history of racial justice.
3
Todayany young man or woman who really wants to go to college can do SO.
Financial help is avaiable from a wide variety of sources.
The federal Government now is investing three times as much in health
programs as it did five years ago. A generation or two ago many of you young
people here today would have died from such diseases as scarlet fever or diphtheria.
Today we are at war in Vietnam. But just five years after the first Holly-
hock Lane Parade the world exploded into global conflict, and just seven years after
that first Hollyhock Lane Parade the United States was drawn into World War II.
Today there's a good bet we can avoid a third World War. And for the first time
in four years there is good reason to believe we can end the Vietnam war on an
honorable basis.
It has become fashionable for some speakers to criticize our young people
today. But only a small fraction of our young people have lost their way. We
should remember that for the most part, we have a committed and a compassionate
younger generation who want to improve this country, young people who want to
build and make this country better, not tear it down. They want to build on the
old revolution, not start a new one.
They are thankful that they live in a free America and partake of the
bounty of this great land of ours.
They know that the defense of freedom is not a sometime thing and that it
takes work to preserve it. So today let us take off our hats to the past but let
us take off our coats to the future. Let us be inspired by the magnificent
achievements of yesterday, but let us also translate our inspiration into
aspirations and accomplishments so that our democracy will flourish.
We must hold high the banner of freedom and uphold the dignity of man.
Do not listen to the false voices that call patriotism old-fashioned or
worse. Be proud to be an American. Be proud to be called a patriot because that
means you love your country above all else.
Let us today seek the real meaning of this Independence Day in our hearts.
Let us rekindle our love of country, courage with conviction, devotion to duty and
passion for justice. Let us celebrate the Fourth of July each and every day of
the year.
not given
office Copy
--FOR RELASE ON DELIVERY
Friday, July 4, 1969
Remarks by Rep. Gerald R. Ford at the 35th annual Hellyhock Lane Fourth of July
celebration, 9 a.m. Friday, July 4, 1969, at Grand Rapids, Michigan
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls. A Happy Fourth of July to you. I
don't know if you've thought about it just this way, but this is a birthday party.
In fact, we are celebrating two birthdays here today. Everybody here is 35 years
old
because we're all part of the wonderful tradition of the Hollyhock Lane
parade, which started 35 years ago; and weverybody here is 193 years old, yes, 193,
because we are all part of the wonderful nation known as the United States of
America, born exactly 193 years ago.
First of all today let us salute the Calvin-Giddings Patriotic Association
for conceiving the idea of this fine Fourth of July parade, now the oldest July
4th parade in Kent County. And let us pay tribute to George Vruggink, the last
surviving member of the group which originated the parade in 1934.
I first marched in and spoke at a Hollyhock Lane parade 21 years ago, so
George Vruggink goes back a lot farther than I do. I'm glad there is somebody
here older than I am.
Seriously, Let's think a minute of what George Vruggink and his friends
were saying to Grand Rapids, to Kent County, to the rest of this country and to
the world when they came up with the Hollyhock Lane parade idea in 1934.
I think what they were saying is that although the United States in 1954
was gripped by a terrible depression with millions of people going to bed hungry
every night, this was still the best country in the world to live in. How much
harder it was to say that then than it is now, when most of us are enjoying an
abundance of material things.
For you teenagers it's just history, if you think about it at all
But
in 1934 our entire nation was crippled, economically.
Boys from the cities were working in the woods, working in the C.C.C. Camps
for a few dollars a month just to put food into their mouths and send a little
money home to help out their folks and the rest of the family.
Seems unbelievable now, doesn't it? Now in this great country of ours
many skilled jobs are going begging. The federal government is spending millions
of dollars a year to train the unemployed and the underemployed to fill those jobs.
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Businessmen, here in Grand Rapids and elsewhere in the country, are joining hands
with the government to give these people training on the job pay them while
they
learn, make them useful citizens deserving of their own respect and the respect
of others.
We look about us today and we see at least one and maybe two or more cars
parked about our good homes. We see healthy, well-fed children in most of our
areas. We enjoy the comforts of the greatest standard of living ever experienced
by men and women and children anywhere in the world.
And we should be moved to say. thank God for the United States of America.
But there is far more to be thankful for than mere material comforts. The
greatest gift we have is that we were born free. What a glorious gift freedom is!
This was the gift. bestowed upon us when a handful of courageous men gathered
together 193 years ago and declared that the colonies established in this country
were free and independent and were cutting their ties with England, their mother
country. This was the gift we received when the framers of the Declaration of
Independence declared that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their creator with certain unalienable rights
"
Our individual freedoms were spelled out later in our federal Constitution,
in the Bill of Rights. We know what those freedoms are. Some Americans take
them too lightly because they didn't have to earn them. A few Americans today
don't want to defend those freedoms
Thank God they are few in number.
Something we should all remember today is that the freedom to swing our
arms ends where the other fellow's nose begins.
Let us be thankful for our freedoms
for our independence
for one of
the most splendid actions in all history taken 193 years ago when 56 men pledged
their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor in support of the struggling
new nation known as the United States of America.
Today there are those who say we are a sick nation. They are wrong. We
are a growing country, a changing country, a dynamic country. We are making
tremendous progress toward the goals set forth by our forefathers.
More social wrongs have been righted in the last decade and a half than
were corrected in the more than 90 years between the end of the Civil War and the
milestone year of 1954, a milestone in the history of racial justice.
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Todaysany young man or woman who really wants to go to college can do so.
Financial help is avaihble from a wide variety of sources.
The federal Government now is investing three times as much in health
programs as it did five years ago. A generation or two ago many of you young
people here today would have died from such diseases as scarlet fever or diphtheria.
Today we are at war in Vietnam. But just five years after the first Holly-
hock Lane Parade the world exploded into global conflict, and just seven years after
that first Hollyhock Lane Parade the United States was drawn into World War II.
Today there's a good bet we can avoid a third World War. And for the first time
in four years there is good reason to believe we can end the Vietnam war on an
honorable basis.
It has become fashionable for some speakers to criticize our young people
today. But only a small fraction of our young people have lost their way. We
should remember that for the most part, we have a committed and a compassionate
younger generation who want to improve this country, young people who want to
build and make this country better, not tear it down. They want to build on the
old revolution, not start a new one.
They are thankful that they live in a free America and partake of the
bounty of this great land of ours.
They know that the defense of freedom is not a sometime thing and that it
takes work to preserve it. So today let us take off our hats to the past but let
us take off our coats to the future. Let us be inspired by the magnificent
achievements of yesterday, but let us also translate our inspiration into
aspirations and accomplishments so that our democracy will flourish.
We must hold high the banner of freedom and uphold the dignity of man.
Do not listen to the false voices that call patriotism old-fashioned or
worse. Be proud to be an American. Be proud to be called a patriot because that
means you love your country above all else.
Let us today seek the real meaning of this Independence Day in our hearts.
Let us rekindle our love of country, courage with conviction, devotion to duty and
passion for justice. Let us celebrate the Fourth of July each and every day of
the year