July Celebration Days

July 25, 2025

July marks the celebration of Independence Day, when people come together to honor the nation’s history. Across the country, families and friends gather for festive barbecues, parades, and dazzling fireworks displays that light up the summer night skies. It’s also a time to enjoy classic American traditions, including delicious food, cold refreshing treats like lemonade, iced tea, and ice cream!

In my family, ice cream is a summer dessert. As a young kid, my family and friends would ride our bikes to local ice cream places to enjoy a cool treat. As a local Hoosier, one of the ice cream places I used to go to Handles. However, as I moved around, I found different ice cream spots!

Every July 21st is National Ice Cream Day. The best part is having an ice cream cone on a hot, muggy day. If you are from Indiana, you’ll know that there are multiple well-known ice cream shops around the state!

Photo of IHS’s ice cream cone at the Fair Oaks Ice Cream, Indiana Historical Society (cropped)

In Greenwood, there is Mrs. Curl ice cream. It’s the kind of ice cream place where it is always packed in late afternoons and evenings, allowing people to make memories!

Mrs. Curl Ice Cream on South Meridian and Machledt Drive in Greenwood, Indiana, Indiana Historical Society (cropped)

Moreover, ice cream became so popular in the Unites States that, in 1984, President Reagan decided to create International Ice Cream day, claiming that ice cream is a “nutritious and wholesome food, enjoyed by 90 percent of the people of the United States” (The history behind National Ice Cream day and month). Now I can’t speak for the American people, but by seeing how long the lines are at Fair Oaks Farms Ice Cream and Mrs. Curl, I think many Hoosiers enjoy this treat!

Children are seated on the ground eating ice cream. The girls are wearing dresses. One of them has some ice cream on her cheek, 1957, P0303 (cropped)

Plus, July is the perfect month to spend time outdoors, soaking in the sunshine and fresh air while enjoying the gentle embrace of a cozy hammock with a good book in hand.

Hammocks were created as beds in Mayan civilization times to have a dry environment while being away from the bugs. It was introduced to Christopher Columbus, and many sailors started using hammocks in their ships to protect them from the damp ground (yolo-inc). Now people use them for sleeping for camping outdoors like these folks in hammocks in the forest at a camp!

Photo shows several men and women in hammocks in the forest at camp, 1910s, IHS, P0226 (cropped)

So, on July 22nd, National Hammock Day, take a moment for yourself — grab your favorite book, head outside, and let the calming sway of the hammock carry you into a world of relaxation and imagination!

Emily J. is the Assistant Librarian at the Indiana Historical Society. During her free time, he enjoys reading and spend time with family.

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