Event on July 4, 1969.
Written April 1994 at Judson for The Scribblers.
Clevelanders will always remember July 4, 1969. The day dawned hot, sultry, and foreboding. The air was so still that it made the heat unbearable. Patriotic programs, parades, and fireworks were scheduled for every municipal park in the Greater Cleveland area, and the greatest of all shows was scheduled for Edgewater Park.
We were lucky to be invited annually to an evening picnic in the tree-sheltered backyard of 10210 Edgewater Drive, one block from the park. This was the home of Dr. and Mrs. Dwight Spreng and their six children. They always invited the whole Dial clan (being half Dial themselves) plus friends from their church. The Sprengs usually had fifty or more guests, one-third of whom were children. Aunt Pat’s Fourth of July Party ranked in fun and importance on the little one’s calendar with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
We all arrived at about 4:00 p.m. The children were keyed up with excitement in anticipation of a good romp with cousins, the goodies galore, and the freedom to help themselves as they pleased. They celebrated freedom by indulging and not listening to “that will spoil your dinner.”
There was always a big cooler full of assorted frozen fruit lollipops, a crate of big ripe Bing cherries from Utah, a bushel of unhulled roasted peanuts, a drink stand with lemonade, iced tea, pop, candy, and popcorn.
At 6:30 or so, the grills were in operation. Dr. Dwight Spreng and Dwight III were turning out delicious hamburgers and wieners. We were served our choice, then helped ourselves to the lavish buffet-style assortment of food. We carried our trays from the twenty-foot-long picnic table on the East side of the yard to our lawn chairs, where we enjoyed the food and the company. This was our procedure year after year.
After dinner, we adults would gather up the children and walk one-half block down to the Point, from which we had an unobstructed view of the fireworks.
The children prompted us to say “Ah ah ah ee!” in a chorus each time we heard a boom and saw a huge bouquet of flowers light up the night sky. This we did with every burst of beauty. The people around us joined in our chorus, and we all had more fun. After the grand “Finale,” we returned to the Spreng’s yard for watermelon and sparklers for the children before going home.
The party ended differently, however, in 1969. We felt a sudden change in temperature as we finished eating, and a brisk wind blew in from the Northwest. A huge bank of very black clouds obliterated the horizon in the West, and Lake Erie looked angry! Flashes of lightning laced the darkness horizontally and vertically. Rumbles of thunder could be heard in the distance.
The wind grew stronger, and the thunder louder and more ominous. We sprang into action, none too soon, to help clear the table, rush the food into the kitchen, and account for the children. Only three or four of our strong young men thought they would stay out and watch the storm come ashore! They sought shelter soon also, for simultaneously there was darkness, a torrential downpour, and tornadic winds that slammed against the shore, into the yard, and against the house.
Three trees went down, and the picnic table took flight over the hedge to land in the yard next door. All sorts of debris flew about as the storm raged on. An upstairs window blew in, producing a torrent of water upstairs that had to be dealt with. We were frightened but believed their sturdy, brick house would stand. I thank God it did.
A man standing at the Southwest corner of 10210 Edgewater had a tree fall on him and break his leg. Dr. Dwight had to go out and give him first aid. With the aid of the policeman, they took him to Lutheran Hospital, where the leg was dealt with properly.
We pitied the thousands of folks down in Edgewater Park who had gathered there to picnic and see the fireworks. Many had to endure the storm’s fury without any protection, and a big tree was struck by lightning, killing the couple seeking shelter under it.
The storm came in so quickly that they didn’t have time to reach their cars. Their cars were parked far away on the residential streets south and west of the Park. It was a terrible night!
The fireworks were called off — ruined by the deluge. The children were disappointed, not realizing that we had seen Celestial Fireworks more powerful and grander than the city could ever put on.
We couldn’t go home for several hours. The streets were choked with fallen limbs, trees, and debris. Crews began working immediately to clear the damage.
At two O’clock, when we finally lay in our beds in Fairview Park, we were thankful that we and our children had been spared from destruction. We felt lucky that our cars were not damaged and thought about the devious detours we made to get home. We could never retrace our route again! It was cooler, calm, and so good to be in our own beds again. Goodnight world! Thank you, God!
Mary W. Dial
Transcribed April 1994.
Posted Apr 14, 1994 at 04:17.
Revised Sep 22, 2025 at 19:49. EDT.
Retrieved Jun 1, 2026 at 07:18.
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