{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Reminiscing on a Hallmark Fourth of July &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"pkv8bIg7X3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/reminiscing-on-a-hallmark-fourth-of-july\/\">Reminiscing on a Hallmark Fourth of July<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/reminiscing-on-a-hallmark-fourth-of-july\/embed\/#?secret=pkv8bIg7X3\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Reminiscing on a Hallmark Fourth of July&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"pkv8bIg7X3\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/JenniferPerkins.jpg","thumbnail_width":220,"thumbnail_height":220,"description":"As a reporter, holidays are often synonymous with stress, overplanning, and a need to clone yourself because you can\u2019t attend multiple events at once.\u00a0 The Fourth of July is no exception, but here is a secret, it is my favorite holiday to cover.\u00a0 This time two years ago, I was on an island in the middle of Lake Michigan working as the only full-time reporter for the Washington Island Observer. The Island is a special place because it is made up of about 700 people who live there year round. The only way to access the Island is by ferry or plane.\u00a0 It\u2019s secluded nature means that it is home to a very tight knit community. It was there that I experienced my very first \u201cHallmark Fourth of July.\u201d\u00a0 I call it a \u201cHallmark Fourth of July\u201d because I am a sucker for the sweet, sappy Hallmark movies where the small town farmer convinces the big city girl to reconnect with her roots.\u00a0 While there was absolutely no love story, at least for me, on the Island, that warm, fuzzy feeling that you get at the end of a Hallmark movie is the only way I could describe my experience of the Island\u2019s Fourth of July festivities.\u00a0 My coverage began at 4:30 that morning.\u00a0 I stopped in the office, checked my email and headed over to the Washington Island Fire Department where I spent hours photographing the department\u2019s annual \u201cFill the Boot\u201d fundraiser.\u00a0 Each year, the fire department takes a pair of fireman\u2019s boots and sets them out front during a pancake breakfast to raise money for the department. I took almost 1,000 photos of the firefighters cooking pancakes and sausage as well as the community who began gathering as early as 6 a.m. to enjoy the feast. \u00a0 My day, although it had started early, was packed with events needing to be covered. I took photos and wrote stories about the events at the nature museum, the local farm museum, bloggers who had travelled to the Island specifically for the holiday, and more.\u00a0 It is a well known tradition that about dusk on the Island on the Fourth of July, everyone gathers on main street to watch the parade.\u00a0 It is not a normal parade with big floats or cars. It doesn\u2019t feature a pageant queen of any kind or popular figure in the community.\u00a0 The parade is simple. The youth on the Island spend the day decorating their bikes, scooters, or even just preparing fun costumes for themselves. That evening they walk or ride down mainstreet forming the parade which ends at the baseball field, an integral spot to Island life. The baseball field is where the Islanders baseball team plays every other Sunday during the summer. Hundreds of community members attend those games.\u00a0 Just like on Sundays, the community gathered at the field on the Fourth of July.\u00a0 When the parade reached the field, all of the children lined up on the first base line where the members of the American Legion gave each child $1.\u00a0 You would have thought the children were receiving a golden ticket to Willy Wonka\u2019s\u00ae Chocolate Factory.\u00a0 As soon as they had their dollars, the line at the small concession stand grew exponentially. I don\u2019t believe it was a coincidence that most of the treats cost $1.\u00a0 After the children had retrieved their goodies, parents would gather them up and as a community they waited for the show to begin.\u00a0 At dark, the first fireworks lit up the sky. The fire department sets off the community display each year. Part of the good nature of the Island however lies in its rivalries.\u00a0 While the fire department sets off the town\u2019s display, a community member who owns property just behind the field sets off their own set of fireworks.\u00a0 Community members had joked about who would have the best display, but I didn\u2019t understand until the fuses had been lit.\u00a0 Imagine the fireworks Corbin sets off at the Arena and then just behind it, the fireworks set off at the Kentucky Splash Waterpark. It was honestly sensory overload at times.\u00a0 Boom, boom, boom. The community sat enamored by the displays which ended about an hour after they began.\u00a0 It was one of the most amazing days of my journalism career thus far. To experience a Hallmark Fourth of July was incredible.\u00a0 One year later, all of the fireworks were canceled. I was back home, but had no fireworks displays to attend. No pancake breakfast to cover. Nothing.\u00a0 I was so looking forward to finally getting to cover the holiday once again this year, but alas, I have been stuck at home for the past week in quarantine.\u00a0 While I couldn\u2019t cover events as I normally would, my family sat on our front porch watching the fireworks our neighbors set off.\u00a0 While it may not have had the fanfare of the Island\u2019s Fourth of July, it still had all the makings of a Hallmark Fourth of July.\u00a0"}