Here are three photos from the Independence Day celebration along Brookline Boulevard on July 4, 1911. The first two images shows one of Brookline's city firemen riding a chemical and hose wagon with horses at a gallop along Brookline Boulevard, near Flatbush Avenue, heading in the direction of the community's new Engine House #57.

At the time Brookline did not yet have an official parade and community festival sponsored by the Board of Trade. Those would begin three years later. However, July 4 was a festive day none-the-less, with a day-long celebration of the Spirit of America along the boulevard that concluded with an evening of music and silent movies, shown on a sheet hung between two pools opposite Stebbins Avenue.

This was also a time for the community to get acquainted with their new city firefighting crew. The firehouse, which was built in 1909 and had sat vacant for two years, had finally been equipped and staffed. Residents young and old alike came out to see the magnificent horses and the horse-drawn chemical and hose wagon of Engine House #57 and meet the firemen. It was a wonderful day indeed for Brookline!

Also visible in the photos, on the hillside to the left, are some people gathering near a booth. Manning the booth were Resurrection parishioners selling Rieck's Pure Ice Cream as a church fundraiser. The parish was just two years old at the time and funds were needed for construction of the classroom portion of the combination church/school building along Creedmoor Avenue.

It would be nice to purchase a few cups of ice cream, sit in the cool grass along the boulevard hillside with the family and listen to ragtime music followed by motion picture entertainment on a fine summer evening.

Click on the images for larger pictures

* Photos provided by Bill Mullen and the Resurrection Archives *