We are used to celebrating July 24th or Pioneers Day in Utah. In our small town of Boxborough they celebrate Fifer's Day. The town puts together a parade, fair with booths and fair type things. We were invited to sit along the parade route with a few new friends from kindergarten. Nicholas met 5 new kids and collected parade candy. He declared "this is the best day!".
A fifer is a non-combatant military occupation of a foot soldier who originally played the fife during combat. The practice was instituted during the period of Early Modern warfare to sound signals during changes in formation, such as the line, and were also members of the regiment's military band during marches.
Some history for you about our town and why it celebrates Fifer's ... taken from Wikipedia:
Boxborough is known for its annual Fifer's Day celebration. The day commemorates Luther Blanchard, the fifer who marched the local minuteman company to the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775. At the North Bridge, minutemen companies from various towns of the Commonwealth successfully engaged the British, forcing the redcoats to retreat. During this action Blanchard was wounded slightly, one of the first battle casualties of the Revolutionary War. He survived to fight the British again a few short weeks later at the Battle of Bunker Hill, where he was again wounded. But in September of the same year, he died, ostensibly of the wounds he received in these battles. He is buried at the Old Burial Ground in Littleton, Massachusetts.[17]
