Fourth of July in Gillette
10/15/03 02:53 PM
Let’s see, the Fourth of July … I remember it well. It was downtown Gillette, WY circa 1984, give or take a year. We were on an oilfield location at Wright and our grandson, Jason, was staying with us so we decided to go to town for the fireworks display. And what a display it was. Everyone was lined up around the lake and the display was across the lake from all of us. We had a ring-side-seat.
The first thing we hear is the blast to let us know the show was beginning. Then off goes a gigantic burst followed by another and another and another. The crowd was going crazy starting with an "ooh!" to :wow!" to "yea!", getting louder by the second. We were probably 15-20 seconds into the display when everyone started getting quieter and quieter as we realized something was amiss.
The first blast had backfired causing sparks to ignite other candles then more, then more, etc. Now, I don’t have the exact facts or figures in front of me, but the four to five-thousand dollars worth of fireworks that should have lasted 30-40 minutes lasted less than four! Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. Some of the windows were blown out of the vehicles close by. So with that in mind, please proceed with caution as you celebrate this Fourth.