Standing on the corner of Ridge and Church, Anya watched the Evanston 4th of July parade floats line up to start their procession down Ridge Avenue. All the streets were lined with red, white, and blue. Even spectators wore their civic colors. Anya too had worn her white blouse with a red banner across her chest and her blue skirt. She also wore a big white straw hat with red, white, and blue flowered trim. She looked around for her friends: Mary, Siobhan, and Agnes. She was joining them to march in the parade for the woman’s clothing workers union. Only the female union members were marching in the parade so they could pass out suffrage information flyers during the parade.
“Anya, we’re here!” she heard as she crossed the street seeing Siobhan waving and pulling a small wagon loaded with flyers.
The woman all lived in the same boarding house. Anya’s friends, Mary, Siobhan, and Agnes all worked at a clothing factory. Although Anya was employed at the University House lunch room, she became more involved with her friends’ suffrage efforts after she had attended the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union meetings. She had helped them work with their union to ensure that they had the right to vote on union issues. Now Anya and her friends had started to support local municipal suffrage for women. The 4th of July parade was the first time they marched together in support of local suffrage for women. The WCTU had large banners to display their message. Anya and her friends lined up behind the group. The mayor, the fire truck, and the high school marching band were ahead of them as the parade started. As they marched down the street the band played John Philip Sousa’s music. The women voices yelled “Votes for Women” although they were barely heard over the music by the watching crowd.
“Anya, take this side of the street and pass out as many flyers as you can.” Siobhan said.
Anya took the flyers and started to offer the sheets to the crowd. Agnes joined her on the opposite side of Ridge Avenue while Siobhan pulled the wagon and Mary refilled their supply of flyers when needed. As they marched along the crowd was enjoying the music and the spectacle so they didn’t seem to mind taking the flyers from the woman. When the parade got closer to Oakton Avenue more of the crowd were men who had come out of the taverns on Howard Street to watch the parade. They took the women’s flyers but when their backs were turned to the men they got bombarded by the crumbled up flyers.
“Oh!” Anya yelled as her hat was taken off by a barrage of paper balls, one with a rock rolled up inside it had hit her on the cheek. The flyers dropped from her hands blowing all over the street. Agnes grabbed Anya’s hat and tried to recapture the blowing flyers. The parade marched passed Agnes and Anya as they tried to recover.
“Anya, are you hurt?” Agnes asked.
“No, I don’t think so. It missed my eye but I will probably have a “star-spangled” bruise.” She giggled covering her face with her hand to test the pain.
“Do you want to quit the parade and go home?” Agnes asked as Siobhan and Mary joined them on that side of the street. “It’s almost over, anyway.”
“What happened?” Mary and Siobhan chimed in simultaneously.
Agnes said, “Those fool men threw our flyers back at us and one had a rock in it which hit Anya.”
“Oh let’s just go.” Siobhan said. “We’ve passed out most of our flyers. We can walk over to Chicago Avenue to get the streetcar from here. We don’t want to be walking down Howard Street passed the taverns.”
The police finally arrived and dispersed the rowdy men. One of the police asked, “Are any of you ladies hurt?”
Anya was about to say something but Siobhan spoke up first. “Well, Sir, my friend lost her hat and dropped her flyers all over the street. Now ya aren’t gonna be arrestin’ us for littering are ya?” She said with her most coquettish smile.
Mary hooked Siobhan’s arm saying, “We were just going home officer, since the parade is almost over. Have a grand 4th of July.” Then she quickly led Siobhan away from the policeman.
Mary and Anya followed with the wagon. The friends walked through the crowd back to Oakton Avenue and over to Chicago Avenue to catch the streetcar home.
“What sha doin’ flirtin’ with that officer? Are ya daft?” Mary asked.
Siobhan giggled. “He was a handsome fellow. Don’t sha think?
All the girls laughed. They stopped at a cart vendor on the way who was selling lemonade.
Anya asked, “Do you have any ice?”
While the girls got their lemonade, Anya took a cup of ice from the vendor instead to put on her cheek.
“I’m going to look a fright at work tomorrow.” She said.
Agnes touched her cheek and said, “Maybe it will only be a small bruise. I have some face powder you can put on to cover over it.”
“Then what do I do when I sweat it off in the heat of the kitchen?”
“You can say you got hit by fireworks!” Mary said. And they all laughed.
