Round Top's
Fourth of July Parade

Oldest West of the Mississippi

To the average citizen of the United States, it no longer seems politically correct to appear passionately patriotic. Over the last forty years, beginning in the Vietnam era, Americans have become increasingly cynical about their government and national heritage. Many of us see our leaders as either inept or corrupt. In some ways, it seems like Watergate never ended. Slavery, imperialism, Jim Crow, the genocide of the Native Americans, the President's picadillos... Sometimes, it seems like the things we are ashamed of as Americans outweigh the things that give us pride. These days, flag waving is often seen as naive, suspect, or reactionary.

But, in Round Top, Texas, population 81, things are different. For a few hours each year, this out-of-the-way hamlet in the Lone Star State becomes an oasis of political innocence and old-fashioned patriotism. On the morning of July 4th, the tiny town of Round Top welcomes 6,000-8,000 gawking, red, white and blue-clad visitors to its historic and unabashedly patriotic Fourth of July Parade...and everyone is invited!.

So, grab your straw hat, your American flag suspenders and drag Old Glory out of the closet. In Round Top, rampantly patriotic dress is considered de rigeur. Come to town early, and grab a rocking chair on the wood plank porch of a historic building, or spread a blanket under a towering live oak tree. Show up at the last minute and you'll be joining thousands of others who line the tiny town's streets under the punishing Texas sun. But, that's okay. Wafting through the crowd comes the smell of barbecue being prepared by local citizens at the Round Top Rifle Association Hall. Soon as the parade is over, they'll have plenty of beer at the Rifle Hall to soothe your parched throat.

Down at the Hall, the parade is forming. Floats jockey into position. Cowboys and cowgirls by the hundreds rein their impatient mounts.

Then, promptly at 10 AM, the suspense ends. The loud bark of the old cannon discharged on the town square echoes through the town. It's time for Round Top’s famous Fourth of July Parade! Old Glory and the Texas flag are unfurled. The color guard sets out at a brisk march. The Round Top Brass Band strikes up a patriotic tune as their float begins to roll. The Brass Band's founder is also the President of the bank...and an alderman... and the recently retired fire chief. It's a small town. Some folks wear a lot of hats.

Antique cars and homemade floats roll by. Children scramble as candy flies through the air. Politicians, trying to look re-electable, and fresh from short, fiery speeches made from the gazebo on the town square, stand and wave from the back seats of shiny new cars.

Thousands cheer and wave the tiny American flags distributed free by the Round Top Chamber of Commerce.

You look at your watch, not to check the time...but the year. You feel like you've walked through a time warp and ended up in the 1950's. It's Norman Rockwell run amuck!

Round Top, Texas was first settled by Anglo-Americans in the 1830's. Local citizens played a significant part in Texas' War of Independence. In the San Jacinto campaign, members of the local Townsend family had a larger representation present than any other family in Texas. Another local man, Joel Robison, was one of the men who captured Santa Anna. For many years, Round Top men wore a gold braided vest at their weddings that was given to Mr. Robison by Santa Anna, himself.

By the late 1840's, German immigrants had bought much of the land in and around Round Top, and began to indelibly imprint their culture on the region's landscape.

Present day Round Topians claim their parade is the oldest continuous Fourth of July Parade West of the Mississippi. Local oral history indicates that the pioneers who settled the Round Top community celebrated the Fourth of July as their independence day soon after they arrived in the area. However, the first recorded celebration that received widespread publicity was in 1851, the 75th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States.

In 1873, the Round Top Rifle Association was formed. German settlers organized to help each other learn sportsmanship and outdoor skills. Originally called by its German name, "Round Top Schuetzen Verein," the official name was changed to Round Top Rifle Association in 1923. For over 100 years, the association has celebrated a "Schuetzen Fest" each September. The Rifle Association has also long sponsored the Fourth of July Parade.

Traditionally in Round Top, a cannon was fired as the official start of the July 4 celebration. In 1889, for some reason, the cannon did not fire. John George Kaiser, then President of the Round Top Rifle Association, was inspecting the cannon when it exploded. Mr. Kaiser was severely injured. He died several days later from loss of blood and infection.

In 1975, for the Bicentennial celebration, then Mayor Don Nagel had the cannon fragments restored so once again it could sound the start of the parade.

Things are slow to change in Round Top. Its citizens appreciate their traditions. The previously mentioned Mayor Nagel served for twenty-nine years. Today, his son is Mayor. Perhaps this resistance to change creates a setting for Round Top's Independence Day Parade that reminds visitors of an earlier era.

One of the most delightful traditions of the Round Top Fourth of July Parade is the float competition. All throughout it's history, local people, citizens of other communities and organizations, have created unique floats and entered the competition. The variety and humor in the entries is often startling.

An older citizen recently told the Round Top newspaper the story of the float he and a friend created for the 1925 parade. "I made an airplane out of a 1918 Model T. It was for the Fourth of July. We worked two weeks on that thing. Anyway, first of all, we had to take the body off. I had a pickup made of it. See, in those days, you couldn't buy no pickup. It wasn't out yet. So you had to make one yourself. It took two days to take it all off. Then we had to go down to Cummins Creek and cut some willow, cause you can bend it. We had to make a tail and the edges.

"See, the idea was to have it the three patriotic colors, red, white and blue. Now we had some bunting that we rolled out all the way to the end. Then there was a wind guide (ailerons), which we pulled with a string and made it go up and down. My mother made the United States flag. I had to go to La Grange to get a permit cause it was against the law to make a flag.

"The only place to sit was on the gas tank. We made the propeller and we fastened it to the radiator... welded it on there so it would turn when the car ran. Now, when we were in the parade, we couldn't run that thing because the wind was too high...nobody could stand that suction back through there. So we just stopped it (the airplane float) ever once in a while when people wanted to see it run, and started it up. We won second prize...but I was glad that was over with. It was a lot of trouble."

In the nineteenth century, the Round Top Fourth of July celebration was a must for politicians who wished to be seen and heard. Many traveled miles by train to Ledbetter, Texas and then were transported to Round Top by stage. It remained an important stop all through the twentieth century.

Many well-known Texas politicians have visited Round Top on the Fourth. The town’s Mayor, Dave Nagel, remembers the time when long time Austin congressman, Jake Pickle, attended the parade and had his finger slammed in a car door by his driver.

J. J. Pickle was not the only government bigwig to sustain injuries associated with the Round Top parade. John Sharp, the recent Comptroller for the State of Texas, tells a story about a time he and long-time Lieutenant-Governor, Bob Bullock, rode in the parade together, one Bullock was not to soon forget.

As Mr. Sharp tells it, he and Mr. Bullock got in the back of their convertible and Mr. Sharp placed a thick towel where he was planning to sit on the body of the car . Mr. Bullock asked him why he had done so, and Mr. Sharp replied that sometimes the metal on the cars got hot. The parade took off and Mr. Sharp and Mr. Bullock began waving to the crowds. After a while, Mr. Sharp looked over and noticed that Mr. Bullock had a forced smile on his face and was repeating the same phrase over and over while he waved. Mr. Sharp leaned closer and heard Mr. Bullock saying softly... "Hi, how are you? My _ _ _ is on fire. Hi! My _ _ _ is on fire." Mr. Sharp took exception to these statements but Mr. Bullock simply replied "They can't hear me and besides, my _ _ _ is on fire!"

In those days, it was traditional for the parade to circle the town two times. It was shorter than it is today. Sadly, Mr. Bullock was not aware of this. At the end of the first revolution, he cried with relief and tried to get out of the car. Mr. Sharp had to inform him that the ordeal was only half over.

Mr. Sharp claims that the overcooked Lieutenant-Governor had to be taken to a medical professional at the end of the day. Mr. Sharp also claimed that, after that experience, Mr. Bullock never again participated in a parade.

These days, Round Top is a thriving resort community. Anchored by the Festival-Institute, a world-renowned classical music institute which hosts internationally recognized festivals, nationally known antiques and crafts events and a Shakespeare program sponsored by the University of Texas, the tiny town attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. Round Top's unique arts attractions bring so much media attention that locals half-jokingly claim Round Top has more "arts performances per capita" and gets more "PR per capita" than any community in America.

Although many of the town's residents are still "locals" of German lineage, new faces have appeared in town over the last forty years. B & B's and quaint antiques shops have sprung up. It seems like tourists are always around. Things have begun to change...even in Round Top.

Perhaps that's why its citizens hold the tradition of their Fourth of July parade so dear. It is one thing that has not changed, one thing that remains simple, one constant in a world that has grown increasingly fragmented and complex. It's a chance to revere the past, express pride in the present and hope for the future.

For over 150 years, the Independence Day Parade has given the people of Round Top a reason to say "God bless America!" But, despite the flag waving, the Fourth of July is not a celebration of the United States government. There is seldom very much to celebrate about government, American or otherwise. Independence Day is a celebration of the human spirit. It is a celebration of a major milestone in the march of freedom. If our founding fathers, rabble rouser and radicals all, had not moved against their government to claim their rights and freedom, there would be no Fourth of July celebration and no United States of America.

The Fourth of July is not about loyalty to a government then, but loyalty to certain ideals. Ideals that drew people of all cultures and nationalities to these shores. It is a celebration of the courage it takes for people to claim their right to be free and independent and happy.

The people of the United States are the country’s strength, not its Congress or its President. The Round Top Independence Day parade is a celebration of the people, of you and me...and how far we’ve come.

Have a happy Fourth!

Round Top Register - Texas Fun Travel Guide