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Firecrackers
May. 21st, 2012 11:23 amRemember firecrackers? I don't know if they're still legal in any Canadian jurisdictions, but they were very much a part of my childhood. No, I don't mean fire WORKs. As a kid, I used to like going up to the big field behind Dempsey's (a family-owned corner-store near where the Dempsey Community Centre now stands) on Victoria Day to see the fireworks display. In those days, it was really only Victoria Day that we associated with fireworks - the notion of having them on the national holiday in July seemed to be mainly an American thing. That changed round about 1967, centennial year, when the all-day, all-evening show on the Hill became an Ottawa, and indeed Canadian tradition.
Anyway, back to firecrackers. In my young day, it was legal for anybody of any age to buy and use the little "ladyfingers", skinny little crackers about the size of typical birthday candles, which were sold as strings of perhaps eight or ten. You could either detach them and set them off individually or light the whole string to yield a series of little pops. Sales of the bigger firecrackers were limited to people sixteen years of age and older. I remember my brother would sometimes light one of those firecrackers, put it in a big galvanized metal garbage can turned on its side, and run like hell to enjoy the huge BANG that ensued.
When I was very young, I was a bit afraid of firecrackers and would huddle indoors during the day on Victoria Day weekend, venturing out only in the evening for the fireworks displays. But just as I was getting to an age where they appealed to me, they stopped selling them. Nowadays, kids do still get to set off sparklers, which are perhaps a little more interesting - light as well as sound - but in this age of helicopter parenting, I suppose firecrackers are considered just too unsafe. Elmer the Safety Elephant has been put out of a job!
Anyway, back to firecrackers. In my young day, it was legal for anybody of any age to buy and use the little "ladyfingers", skinny little crackers about the size of typical birthday candles, which were sold as strings of perhaps eight or ten. You could either detach them and set them off individually or light the whole string to yield a series of little pops. Sales of the bigger firecrackers were limited to people sixteen years of age and older. I remember my brother would sometimes light one of those firecrackers, put it in a big galvanized metal garbage can turned on its side, and run like hell to enjoy the huge BANG that ensued.
When I was very young, I was a bit afraid of firecrackers and would huddle indoors during the day on Victoria Day weekend, venturing out only in the evening for the fireworks displays. But just as I was getting to an age where they appealed to me, they stopped selling them. Nowadays, kids do still get to set off sparklers, which are perhaps a little more interesting - light as well as sound - but in this age of helicopter parenting, I suppose firecrackers are considered just too unsafe. Elmer the Safety Elephant has been put out of a job!
