Perris teens marked July 4, 1914, with eight-hour hike
When we think of celebrating the Fourth of July nowadays, we generally think of having friends and family over for a barbecue, having a party and, of course, watching fireworks after dark.
In 1914, though, three boys from Perris had a different idea — one that seems tiresome today.
On July 4, 1914, 15-yearold Arthur Sill woke up with thoughts of celebrating the holiday. Instead, his father, E. E. Sill, a Perris farmer and rancher, put Arthur to work with him operating the cultivator in the corn fields. After a day of that, Arthur and the family did celebrate the holiday with others, having a party and setting off firecrackers.
Late that night, though, Arthur and two of his older brothers decided to undertake something they’d been meaning to do for a while — take a hike into Riverside. According to Arthur Sill’s reminiscences about the affair, his parents protested but were too tired to do much about it. They went to bed, leaving the three boys to fill their canteens, fix some sandwiches and pack their bags for a midnight adventure.
The three boys set out around midnight, headed to downtown Perris, where they opted to walk along the line of the California Southern Railroad north instead of the “dusty” highway, as Sill put it. After about 4 miles, they came to the Val Verde station, then to the Alessandro Station (about where March Air Reserve Base is today), and then passed the large open grain fields where the small community of Edgemont would later be established.
They continued on to the top of the Box Springs Grade, where there was a horse-watering trough and a place to fill canteens. Here, they rested for the first time since setting out.
By this time, Sill recounts, the sun was coming up, they all needed some sleep, but still had about 6 miles along the highway to traverse to get to their destination, which was the Santa Fe train station in Riverside. So, despite wanting to remain in place for a while, the three boys got back up on their feet and continued along the highway into downtown Riverside.
They arrived at the train station around 8 in the morning (Sill says he walked the last 2 miles in his sleep), and there they were able to sleep for two hours on the grass in front of the station. At 10 a.m., the train came that would return them to Perris. The boys bought tickets and boarded the train — “judging from the stares we got from other passengers they must have concluded that however we had celebrated the Fourth it had all but done us in!”
The three boys made it back to Perris in time for another 4-mile hike back home, and probably more work before finally getting some good sleep!