Boy Wins Tom Swift Book in Fourth of July Bike Parade in 1950s

Posted to the Vintage Photos Theme Park for the theme of Fourth of July (flags, fireworks, patriotic, freedom, red-white-blue, barbeques, etc.).

Judging by the American flag and other decorations that the boy has on his bike in this somewhat battered photo, I suspect that he rode it in a Fourth of July bike parade. If that's the case, he probably received the book he's holding in his hand as a prize for participating in the parade. (By the way, after searching for images on Google, I was surprised to see how popular Fourth of July bike parades seem to be.)

Although the book cover is difficult to make out (mouse over the image above for an enlarged but still blurry view), it looks like the title begins with the words "Tom Swift," and the shadowy images seem to correspond to the submarine and octopus that appear on the covers of early editions of Tom Swift and His Jetmarine.

Since this Tom Swift title was first published in 1954, it's likely that this boy rode his bike in a Fourth of July parade that year or sometime later in the 1950s.