Stars, Stripes, and Serendipity: A Pre–Fourth of July Walk in Piedmont

Our Piedmont Recreation Department’s Walking on Wednesday group met at the Exedra this past Wednesday to enjoy an early summer walk together on a lovely morning. The 4^th of July was just two days away and we were getting ready for it too.

There was an excellent holiday week turnout of 42 walkers and four K-9 best friends on hand.

Before our normal start time, Peggy S, who is a physical therapist, gave a helpful refresher of her safe walking and fall prevention exercises. When our entire group came together, it was noted that this day was the 183rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar and 182 days remained until the end of the year. It was the halfway point of the year. Noon, when our walks usually finish up, was the exact halfway point and a “Happy New Half Year” could be celebrated.

The group was reminded that we would walk together as part of Piedmont’s 4^th of July Parade and some parade history was shared. Sixty years ago, in 1965, Piedmont’s city-wide parade started. Dick Johnson, who was then chairman of the Recreation Commission, helped create the parade. His El Cerrito Avenue neighborhood had been celebrating the July 4th since the mid-1950s with its own kids’ bicycle parade, a watermelon eating contest, and a water balloon toss. Mary Ellen Sherry and my mother Dorothy Carter, who lived on the block, had experienced 4^th of July block celebrations elsewhere. They wanted one for their street, so they created the El Cerrito Avenue event. Patty Edmonds, the Piedmont Parade’s long-time announcer, and I were El Cerrito Avenue children at the time. Johnson thought Piedmont was too quiet in the summer and was instrumental in expanding the neighborhood parade to a citywide event.

We decided to go down to El Cerrito Avenue and see where the city’s first organized July 4^th celebration was held. We could then go up to Mesa Avenue where we would assemble on Friday for the parade. This is near Moraga Avenue, so we could also go down the street and look for the two bald eagles and their two eaglets that have been nesting in a eucalyptus tree at the edge of Mountain View Cemetery. The eaglets hatched in May and the walkers got a first look at them in early June. Since the birds typically don’t leave the nest, or “fledge,” for 10 to 14 weeks, the new family would still be in residence, and we could have another look. Additionally, on our return to the Exedra, we could march down the Highland Avenue parade route and be the first group to walk it this year.

We started off going down Magnolia Avenue and stopped to check out the under-construction aquatics center. Workers were busy, cement was being poured, and the facility is taking shape. We continued down to the 300 block of El Cerrito where Piedmont’s first 4^th of July street celebration occurred almost 70 years ago. We crossed Oakland Avenue and went over to Blair Avenue. We went up to Dracena Avenue and across it to Park Way. Going up Park past Highland Avenue got us to Mesa Avenue. At 22 Mesa, where we would gather before the parade, we posed for the attached group photo.

Before we went looking for the eagles, the bird’s connection to the United States was shared. The bald eagle became the symbol of America when it was chosen for the Great Seal of the United States in 1782. It was chosen for its long life, great strength, majestic looks, and because it was then believed to be unique to the North American continent. The bald eagle is named for its distinctive white head, which was once described as "bald" in old English, meaning white or bare. The name doesn't refer to a lack of feathers, as adult bald eagles have a full head of white feathers. Lori Austin had recently visited Africa and shared the also attached photo of the African fish eagle. It has a white head like our bald eagle but a white chest too.

For six years, the members of Congress held a bitter dispute over what the national emblem should be. It wasn’t until 1789 that the bald eagle was finally chosen to represent the new nation. Benjamin Franklin initially opposed its selection. He wrote, “I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy. The turkey is a much more respectable bird and withal a true, original native of America.” Not everyone agreed. Although the bald eagle has been a symbol of America for a long time, it was only recently, in December 2024, that it was officially designated by Congress as our national bird.

We went down Mesa to Moraga, up a block to Monte Avenue, and looked across the street to the cemetery’s eucalyptus trees for the eagles’ nest. Some eagle enthusiasts were there with binoculars, and we joined in the fun. The eaglets’ heads occasionally popped up from the nest and moved around. The birds were significantly larger than when we saw them a month ago.

However, noon was fast approaching, and it was time for us to get down to Highland and start our parade. We went up Monte and down Park to Highland. In a long line, we were the first group to walk the parade route this holiday week. And, as we got to Highland Way, noon arrived. An old tennis ball was dropped, and Happy New Half Year greetings were shared. The fun would continue in two days.