The Fourth of July in Matawan, 1932

I found this Red Bank Register article dated 13 July 1932, which mentions Matawan's Fourth of July festivities that year.

Matawan staged one of the most interesting Fourth of July celebrations in its history. The first event on the all-day program was a baseball game in the morning between the Matawan post of the American Legion and the Matawan firemen. It was played on the Matawan high school field and was witnessed by a crowd of enthusiastic fans. This spirited battle ended in a tie, with the score 6 to 6.

The parade, which was scheduled to start at Memorial Park at 12:00 o'clock was delayed two hours by a steady downpour of rain, but at two o'clock the parade, which included fire companies of Matawan, Keyport and Hazlet, the American legion post, Girl Scouts, a George Washington float, three bands of music, the celebration committee headed by Mayor Edward W. Currie and members of the borough council, was on its way. Both sides of Main street were lined with people.

Immediately following the parade the crowd flocked to Lake Lefferts, where aquatics sports listed on the day's program were contested. By the starting time, 3:30 o'clock, over 4,000 people lined the banks of the lake. A band on a float tied to the east bank, kept the spectators in good spirits throughout the afternoon with national marches and modern music. Through the courtesy of TenEyck Ronson, the judges' float was equipped with a radio hook up to assist the master of ceremonies, Mayor Edward Currie, in announcing the results of the various sport events to the large gathering.

The first event, a fifty-yard dash for girls, was won by Emma Croce, with Vera Hoelzer coming in second and Muriel Brown third. Time, 60 seconds.

Boys' (under 14 years old) 50-yard dash was won by Dayton Wilson of Keansburg. Albert Griffiths of Matawan was second and Frank Veary of Matawan third. Time, 44 4-5 seconds.

The 100-yard dash for girls over 14 years was won by Claire LeFavre of Matawan. Carolyn Kortenhaus of  Cliffwood was second and Helen Chocha of Matawan third. Time, 1 minute, 54 seconds. The 100-yard dash for boys under 14 was won by John Riley of Keansburg, with Joe Dorner of Newark second and James Riley of Keansburg third. Time, 1 minute, 36 seconds.

The two-man relay race for 100 yards was won by Melvin Carman and John Reilly, with William Sergis and J Parprota second. Time, 1 minute, 13 seconds.

The fancy diving contest for boys was won by Vito Scadis of Matawan with Clifford Reeve and Thomas MacDonaid, both of Matawan, second and third. Helen Chocha and Jane Cortenhaus carried off the diving honors in the girls' affair.

The three-quarter mile race for boys was won by Jake Parprota of Parlin. William Sergis of Matawan second and George Clayton of Matawan third. Time, 13 minutes, 5 seconds. The three-quarter mile race for girls was won by Miriam Thorsen of Matawan with Claire LeFavre of Matawan second and Dorothea Hotailng of Matawan third. Time, 18 minutes.

The boys' canoe tilting contest was won by Vito Scardis handling the tiller with Peter TenEyck at the paddle. The team of Shirley VanBrakle and Reba Disbrow won the girls' canoe tilting affair and as an added attraction a duel between the two winners was staged. After half an hour of desperate struggling in the canoes between Shirley VanBrakle and Vito Scardis the judges called it a draw. Both teams received medals. The canoe race was won by Dernberger and Barrette and Ryder and Clayton second and the TenEyck brothers third. The barrel rolling contest was won by William Dernberger. The canoe tug-of-war was won by Lefferts and Sergis. In the evening there was a display of fireworks at 10:00 o'clock.

Miss Hazel Warnock left last week for a camp at Beach Arington. Miss Ann Laird, daughter of Councilman and Mrs.Laird, is spending the summer at a camp in Maine.