Remembering the Fourth of July on Wilbraham Mountain . . .

Before the tornado . . . before the tornado took with it the cabin that sat on top of Wilbraham Mountain . . . many Armenian-American families originally from Marash celebrated every Fourth of July on top of their beloved Wilbraham Mountain. How did they celebrate? --Raising the American Flag on a flagpole on top of Wilbraham Mountain, signaling the beginning of summer for the Marashtsis in Western Massachusetts! --Building a fire in the stone fireplace built by the Marashtsi men behind the cabin, a fire perfectly designed for cooking the shish kebab that the Marashtsi women had prepared by hand for all to enjoy. --Putting up the curtains and making up the beds in the cabin (the building which had been the first schoolhouse in Springfield, Massachusetts) on the top of Wilbraham Mountain. --Remembering the blessings of this United States of America, the country that had welcomed these folks, many of whom had survived the horrors of the Genocide of the Armenian people. --And Levon and George as young boys, shooting off fireworks to celebrate with their parents, cousins, aunts, and uncles the freedom and wonders of their country, The United States Of America!