July 4th celebration at the Lakeview Amphitheater in 2016. Michael Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com

The July 2, 1912 Syracuse Herald had a strange advertisement on one of its pages.

“How I Dread the Fourth!!!” the ad screamed.

The ad was one of three that week purchased by the Mystique Krewe, something of a secret society which had among its members some of Syracuse’s leading citizens. It put into words what many people, especially parents, thought about how America celebrated its Independence Day.

“How many times have you heard the above?” the ad asked. “How many times have you said it yourself? And it was a cry of terror from the fond parents who feared that their children might be among the many that were being killed and maimed each year.”

According to newspapers at the time, no holiday on the calendar, except for Christmas, was celebrated by more people in Syracuse, or with more fervor, than the Fourth of July.

Syracuse's Mystique Krewe organization voiced the opinion of many in the city who came to dread the dangers and noise of the Fourth of July. This ad, titled "How I Dread the Fourth!!!" was one of the three they purchased in Syracuse newspapers in 1912 offering a safer alternative to the usual mayhem, a fireworks show and two concerts at the Archbold Stadium in the Syracuse University area. Courtesy of World ArchivesCourtesy of World Archives

But with its noisy and explosive firecrackers, no day was as dangerous.

In another one of its ads, the Mystique Krewe said that 38,885 Americans had been “killed and maimed by explosives” during the nine previous Fourth of July celebrations, and then speculated that there had been more deaths celebrating independence than there had been in the war for it.

(Battlefields.org says that total American casualties in the Revolution were an estimated 6,800 killed in battle and another 17,000 who died of disease. The Krewe’s numbers regarding strictly fatalities related to fireworks were certainly exaggerated.)

During the previous five years, Syracuse averaged about 10 serious injuries related to the celebration of the Fourth each year and it, like many American cities, were looking for a way to stop change them.

In 1911, the Syracuse Herald said, “many children were injured, and several fires were started by promiscuous fireworks.”

Though the city did not take any actions to make the Fourth any safer in 1912, there was a “strong sentiment” in the city for a “saner” Fourth of July.

Physicians were on duty throughout the city and a shipment of tetanus anti-toxin, to prevent lockjaw, which was a frequent side effect of firework injuries, had arrived. Ambulances and fire engines were at the ready.

The Mystique Krewe’s newspaper ads were the first part of their campaign for a quieter Fourth. The second part was a gigantic fireworks show and concert at Archbold Stadium which, it was hoped, would satisfy firecracker enthusiasts.

Starting at 6 p.m. on the Fourth, the elaborate show would feature two concerts, with a big fireworks show in between, calcium lights which would illuminate the entire University area, and a steam curtain, which was a “sheet” of rising water vapor which, when colored lights were aimed at it, created a “brilliant rainbow effect of unusual beauty.”

Tickets cost 25 cents or 50 cents for a reserved seat. Organizers planned for the biggest crowd in Archbold’s five-year history.

Despite their plans, the Fourth of July in Syracuse started in the typical wild manner.

This cartoon from the July 5, 1912 Herald shows a Syracuse lad waving a banner which reads "Safe and Sane" after a quieter Fourth of July that year than usual. There were just four injuries from firecrackers. The boy is walking on a doctor and has a foot in his bag. Courtesy of World ArchivesCourtesy of World Archives

A bonfire, made up of old barrels and crates, was started at midnight at Salina and Brighton streets.

“Grownups forgot their age and burned punk and fired crackers with the younger ones,” the Herald reported. “Old maids and nervous persons held their ears and their breath. Firecrackers in the streets made horses jump and made men and women jump, too. It was a day of crackling, sizzling noises.”

There were injuries, of course, though fewer in number than usual.

“One boy took liberties with a railroad torpedo and damaged a perfectly good finger, which the doctor hopes to save for him,” the newspaper said.

Another held a firecracker too long, burning his hand. That evening, two other boys were hurt.

“Unless infection results from the burns, all four will be as good as new after wearing themselves in bandages for a week or so,” was how the Herald optimistically put it.

The weather might have also played a role.

Evening rain and showers moved in, putting a damper on the festivities. The Mystique Krewe’s show at the Archbold was postponed until the next night.

The weather was perfect then. More than 11,000 people poured into the stadium to witness “one of the most novel collections of pyrotechnical pieces ever exhibited in this State.”

The pinwheels, streamers, and other illuminations received enthusiastic applause from the large crowd.

The elaborate fireworks show put on my Syracuse's Mystique Krewe was postponed until the evening of July 5, 1912 after rain washed away the Fourth. More than 11,000 people paid 25 to 50 cents for a seat. Courtesy of World ArchivesCourtesy of World Archives

The evening was a success and went off without a hitch.

A searchlight placed on the roof of Archbold Gymnasium sent a bright ray of colorful light into the sky and then over the crowds of spectators.

“A ‘loving couple’ were discovered by its rays as they sat alone in the grandstand opposite the crowded sections and immediately following the exposure, they were seen to be making for the more thickly populated areas,” the Herald reported.

The Journal nicknamed them the “Spooney Couple” and said they furnished the evening’s comedy for the spectators.

(Spooney is an old-fashioned term for being foolishly or sentimentally in love.)

With only four injuries, the Fourth of July 1912 was considered a “safe and sane” one in Syracuse, which mirrored other American cities which had put tight controls on firecrackers and explosives.

The relative quiet would not last for long.

Twenty years later, in 1932, Syracuse’s Common Council would ban all firecrackers after another spike in injuries.

In 1933, for the first time in city history, not a single person was hurt by explosives on the Fourth of July.

Fourth of July 2022: A complete guide to fireworks in Central NY

Why did the 12 million lb. hotel cross the road? To make way for the Hotel Syracuse

Opened during WWII, Bristol Myers in Syracuse was the world’s biggest penicillin maker by 1950

No runs were scored in 15 innings but Syracuse baseball game was declared the ‘grandest’ in history

Syracuse rallies to save a young Ukrainian immigrant from deportation

This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle at jcroyle@syracuse.com or call 315-427-3958.

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).

© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.