---

One 4th of July event in the area was the dedication of the Dodgeville Masonic Lodge building to be a Masonic museum for the entire state. They held a program on the front steps of the building and also had a brat feed and gave tours.
*****
The first baseball tournament of July is over here in Dodgeville - the State 16-18 Year Old. Boy was the head on Thursday and Friday almost unbearable. We sure went through the water and Gatorade in the concession stand at Centennial Park those two days. We even kept the teams at the high school field hydrated with water and Gatorade. Thanks to Piggly Wiggly for letting us use their wagon to serve out of and to keep brother Pat out of the elements and under some type of shade!
*****
This coming weekend, starting Saturday at 12:30 p.m., the Ohio Valley 16-18 Year Olds will be playing at Centennial Park for the right to go to the Babe Ruth World Series. These teams come from Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, West Virginia and Wisconsin - with the host Dodgeville team being able to compete against the "big" boys. They play first on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. against the central Indiana team. If you want to see some good baseball and possibly some future Major Leaguers, stop up and watch a few games. There is an admission charge to get into these games - Ohio Valley League rules.
*****
Another Farmers Appreciation Day is over with a lot of hard work by a committee of people from the area producing a fun, eventful day. The parade showed off a lot of farm related items, including some very creative floats by 4-H clubs. The crowd at Harris Park had a lot of events to watch and/or take part in and there was some very good food!
*****
Wednesday's 4th of July celebration in Mineral Point attracted a huge crowd starting with the annual Historic Run where the heat was "getting there" by the end of the races - around 9:00 a.m. From then on, the crowds got bigger for the parade, chicken BBQ and everything else the rest of the day.
*****
I don't know what the speed limit is in Illinois, but......the other day i was heading west on 18 and pulled into the right hand lane when two lanes appeared. I was doing 60 MPH (I know, 5 miles over the speed limit) and an Illinois licensed vehicle shot past me like I was going still. It must've been doing 75-80. If that would've been me, I know there would've been a law enforcement officer in the area, but that person lucked out!
*****
For the ball tournament last week, I got sandwich buns from my late buddy's place - that "Not So" Quality Bakery. And it lived up to is name. The very first hot dog bun I took out of the package was not even close to being slit straight!