written from Bridgeport, Ohio, July 4th 1869

“……nobody home but Dr,. Mary and myself – none of us, I believe, in a very festive mood. It don’t seem at all like the 4^th of July. There was some kind of a celebration yesterday at the fairground on the Island of the “lower million” principally, I suppose from their maneuvers. I watched them a while through the telescope, but didn’t see much to interest me, except a velocipede race, which was somewhat of a novelty.There was quite a crowd, and they appeared to be enjoying themselves hugely notwithstanding the extreme heat, till a sudden thunderstorm, towards evening, sent them flying in all directions. Thunder, and hail storms are all the fashion in this neighborhood. ”

It does get very hot, and humid, in this part of Ohio. The Afflecks were probably much more comfortable staying at home on top of the hill where they lived. I was glad to see Mary taking interest through the telescope, as she sounded weary and depressed for several years after the loss of her son in the Civil War, and the death of beloved granddaughter a few years later.