John Philip Sousa

With drums pounding and trombones flashing in the sun, a brightly uniformed marching band marches down Main Street. This is a common scene in America on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and other occaisions that call for the snap and flourish of a military band. And such bands usually play at least one rousing march by John Philip Sousa, the composer and bandleader who is known as the “March King.”

Studying the violin at age six, Sousa showed his flair for music early. When he was 13, he began a two-year apprenticeship with the U.S Marine Band. Then he spent several years with theater orchestras. He began composing music – waltzes, orchestral suites, and even operettas. But it was his marches that made him famous. They included “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” “The Washington Post March,” “El Capitan,” and “Semper Fidelis.”
Sousa developed a tuba that rested on a player’s shoulders and could be carried in a march. Called the sousaphone, it is used in marching bands today.

In 1880, Sousa rejoined the Marine Band as its leader. Under Sousa, the band became famous around the world. Many of his best-known marches were written for this band. In 1892, he left the Marines to form his own group, the Sousa Band, which toured America and the world, cementing Sousa’s reputation as the greatest composer-bandmaster of his day.

Here is an example of Sousa's "El Capitan":

Squaredancing

“Do-si-do!” Swing your partner!” “Promenade!” The caller sings out instructions. The fiddler plays a lively tune. Women in swirling skirts and men in bright Western shirts link hands and move in complicated patterns across the floor. This is a square dance, the best known form of American folk dancing.

Square dancing began in early colonial times. Settlers had brought traditional dances from their homelands. In time, these dances had merged and developed into a uniquely American form. Once found in rural areas, square dancing later became popular in cities too.

At house-raising parties in colonial days, cornmeal bran was spread on new wood floors. Couples square danced on the bran to smooth and shine the floors.

Today, square dancing are still performed to traditional country or mountain tunes played on a fiddle, guitar, or banjo. An even number of couples, usually four, face each other either in a square (quadrille), two lines (contra dance), or a circle (running set). A non-dancing caller directs the patterns, singing out or speaking rhythmically (“patter calling”) over the music. Calls, patterns, and dancing styles vary. In general, Western-style square dancing is more vigorous and complex than the older Eastern style. But both styles provide fun and exercise for dancers of all ages.

Quilts

On the American frontier, quilt making was both a necessity and an art. The pioneer women who made quilts used their creativity and imagination while assuring that their families would be kept warm.

Quilting is a needlework technique in which two layers of fabric are stitched together with soft padding in between. To keep the padding from shifting, many short stiches are run through the layers, usually in a decorative pattern.

Dutch and English settlers introduced quilting to colonial America. A uniquely American innovation was the patchwork quilt, produced by cutting scraps of clothin into various shapes and then sewing them together to make a decorative quilt top.

Another popular type was the applique quilt, in which subjects such as flowers and animals were cut from colored cloth and sewn to a plain facing.

Historically, quilt making was frequently a group activity called a “quilting frolic” or “quilting bee.” This gave women the chance to meet and talk while creating something beautiful and useful.

With the arrival of sewing machines, quilt making passed out of fashion. In recent years, it has enjoyed a revival as new generations have returned to this particularly American folk art.

Quilting is believed to have originated in China, where quilted clothing was worn for warmth and for protection in battle.