It’s here! My favorite month of the year is July and it’s here now. As I’m sure I’ve shared with you before, dear readers, No. 2 brother and I always called the first week in July “Our Week” because of our birthdays. Dad would take that week off and we’d visit some of Indiana’s wonderful state parks.

One day we’d go to a park, have a picnic, hike and probably swim. The next day Mother and I would do laundry, fry chicken or make sandwiches, make potato salad or Jell-O salad, bake a cake or cookies and get ready for the next day’s adventure to Clifty Falls, Turkey Run or McCormick’s Creek.

One year we were all busy with other activities like various day camps and Mother was our usual chauffeur. Dad stayed home and painted the garage. Since Mother was always coming and going, one of the neighbor kids told his mom, “Mrs. Voiles is spending Mr. Voiles’ vacation!”

What’s so special about this seventh month of the year?

It used to be a time for anticipating the fair and for celebrating birthdays. I shared my birthday with a friend of my Grandma Hufferd. Cousin Toni shared Phil’s natal day (minus a few years) and neighbor Stella Moster was a “firecracker,” born on the Fourth. Dad’s birthday was the 31st, so we had celebrations all month long.

I must acknowledge as well the Fourth of July, a day of baseball games, picnics and after dark fireworks, lots of fun.

Having some French heritage I recognize Bastille Day on July 14, but mostly because it is the birthday of dear friend Janet Mauzy (for whom I was named).

July meant going swimming, bike riding, skating, running around barefoot, no school (except when first grade teacher-neighbor Mrs. West caught us on a rainy day and “let” us use old workbooks to play school), and especially the library’s summer reading program. I recall that when we completed a book we would share what we’d read with Mrs. Schermer or some of the other staff. Our reward was a fun day at Waggener’s Briar Patch.

Mother always packed extra food in our lunches because “someone will forget and you can share.” One time one of the boys dropped his lunch in the creek and was sure glad I had an extra PBJ sandwich. Playing outdoors like that really increased the appetite.

Regarding swimming, we took lessons at Wolfal’s gravel pit before the pool was built. The highlight of one summer was riding bikes to the park and watching the building of the pool. (Yes, I’ve gotten to see both pools built).

The idea was to get as much fun as possible out of July and August because September was coming and the return of being cooped up in school. (Sorry, I was very fond of my teachers and classmates but longed for barefoot roaming outdoors).

The fact that July was named after Julius Caesar really didn’t interest me. I am glad the name was changed from the Latin Quintilis, which doesn’t sound at all appealing or even pronounceable to me.

The end of July meant fresh produce, especially that glorious fruit/vegetable, the tomato! Uncle Norman would take us out into his garden at Mays and get us to taste different veggies like kohlrabi, but my passion was for those warm-from-the-sun, bright red, juicy orbs called tomatoes. In my opinion, the best way to eat most other veggies there was after Aunt Helen had worked her magic on them (especially the corn) in the kitchen.

The only problems with Uncle Norman’s garden were the “guard goose” and the fact that we weren’t supposed to play with the cute beagles he boarded. It would spoil them as hunting dogs, he said.

There would be frequent trips out to the farm Grandma Hufferd owned or to Aunt Mary and Uncle Scratch Hester’s country home. No, I never associated the friendly cows or the silly chickens with the meat we picked up at the locker. The livestock on the farm had no resemblance to the packages of meat we picked up at the frozen food locker in downtown Rushville across from Moster and Sons Mortuary (now Moster’s).

We also spent time freezing veggies to take to a box at the locker. Do you remember those cardboard, wax-covered boxes? I think they were blue, maybe a blue gingham design.

Well, enough reverse thinking. Enjoy your own nostalgic memories of the best month, July.

Rejoice.



Jan Voiles can be contacted at jan.voiles@rushvillerepublican.com or at (765) 932-2222 ext. 107. Add a comment to this story at www.rushvillerepublican.com