Jollification

“Jollification” in Spite of a Looming Great War – SJ Historical Museum photo

Here is this month’s history column from the San Juan Historical Museum… 

As we gear up for this year’s Independence Day festivities, we recall the year 1914 when Islanders gathered for the county’s first automobile parade, held on July 4 in Friday Harbor. The Journal reported that after the parade that year, townspeople walked to the ball game at the “Jim King grounds,” noting there was “jollification in the good old spirit of 1776.”

Ella Erickson Dightman is pictured here at the wheel of her first place entry on that day 100 years ago. We can assume her sentiments towards America’s involvement in the looming war in Europe were represented by the “Neutral” sign atop her vehicle. Exactly one month later, President Woodrow Wilson formally proclaimed the neutrality of the United States, a position favored by the majority of Americans at the time.

Join us this Friday on the Jim King grounds, now the site of the San Juan Historical Museum, where “jollification” continues at the annual Kiwanis Pig War Picnic. See you there!

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