The Superior Express -

I suspect the thousands of people who most years gathered at Lovewell Lake for this week’s three-day weekend would have liked more sun and less rain but the weather was great for the annual Lady Vestey Festival. The sky was overcast and the temperature on the cool side making for a pleasant weekend. It hasn’t always been that way.

While the parade has never been rained out, it has come close and rain has dampened a number of festival activities. One year a representative of the Vestey family was drenched when a vendor’s tent filled with water and collapsed on her.

The weather did cause some schedule changes and activity adjustments, but it didn’t cause a major disruption.

Prior to last Wednesday night’s rain storm, Superior was looking beautiful but many of the flowers that had been so pretty earlier that day, didn’t fare well.

As a youngster growing up in the country, I was envious of my town friends who had bicycles they rode all over town. I had a bicycle but it collected sandburs and frequently had flat tires. I tried to ride on the highway but the highways were narrow and many vehicles whizzed past me at 70 miles per hour. I feared they might blow me off the road.

It was fun riding the bike to town but after an afternoon in the park or swimming pool, it was agony having to ride home. Though I tried many times, not once was I able to peddle the bicycle all the way home. I tried to imitate the truckers who began accelerating soon after crossing the Republican River with the hope of making it to the top of the hill without having to down shift into granny gear.

Though I pedaled as fast as I could, I never made it up the hill with either my single-speed or two-speed bicycles. Now I have a 10-speed but I no longer have the desire to even try.

Monday night I wanted to park the bicycle I had ridden home from work in the garage. Instead of opening the overhead door, I tried to slide it in though the walk-in door. I’m not sure whether I had driven the car in too far or I have too much stuff piled in front of the car but there wasn’t room to put the bicycle in its normal parking place. Instead I left it leaning against the car. Must remember to move it before backing the car out of the garage.

When making out my next to-do list, I should put garage cleaning high on the list.

In my growing up years, my father insisted the garage be cleaned and orderly before Memorial Day. Most years the inventory for our fireworks stand arrived on Memorial Day.

I never understood, how Dad knew to expect the shipment on Memorial Day. The company never notified him to expect it that day but somehow, it just showed up in one of the distributor’s old trucks.

In preparation, we had to organize the garage and throw out what wasn’t needed before scrubbing the floor and brushing down the walls. Most years the shipment would contain 50 or more cartons. Compared to the feed, seed and oil I helped Dad unload, the fireworks shipment was exciting. The boxes were not nearly as heavy and they contained things that would help people have a good time.

I suspect one of the reasons I enjoyed selling fireworks was the fact our customers all bought fireworks expecting to have a good time.

If I didn’t have a newspaper to publish every week, it would be fun to again open a fireworks stand. A story which came across my desk this week indicated this is still a good place for a fireworks stand. The story told of a study which found Kansas residents spent more than $20.5 million on fireworks between January, 2020, and March, 2021. That’s $7,049 per 1,000 residents, the second-highest amount in the nation! Nebraska residents spent more than $8.6 million on fireworks between January, 202,0 and March 2021. That’s $4,498 per 1,000 residents, the 6th-highest amount in the nation!

While ranking number six is nothing to sneeze at. Why do you suppose Kansans spend nearly twice as much on fireworks as do Nebraskans?

When I was in the business, Kansas fireworks laws were more liberal than those in nearby Nebraska. Probably 95 percent of the fireworks I sold were fired in Nebraska.

I never understood some of the differences. While Kansas allowed more powerful firecrackers Nebraska allowed flying items like sky rockets, satellites, helicopters and bottle rockets which Kansas did not. Bottle rockets were packed in dozen bundles and 12 dozen to a bale. Many customers would buy them by the gross and shoot them out of pop bottles.

Helicopters, buzz bombs and satellites were probably safe as long as their wings were not damaged. Frequently, before selling we had to adjust or reform their wings to make sure they flew up as planned. We also had to explain the proper way for shooting.

Starlights and Roman Candles were similar products but Nebraska didn’t allow the candles. The only difference was the starlight came with a pointed stick which obviously showed they were to be planted in the ground. Instructions on the candles said to place in the ground but many people tried to hold. That wasn’t a safe practice for sometimes the candles misfired and balls of fire shot out the back rather than the top of the candle.

Another news release crossing the editor’s desk in recent days, related to changes in the federal fireworks law.

I was sorry to learn sparklers with metal wires are no longer allowed. Sparklers were among our stand’s most popular items. Everybody bought sparklers. Most sparklers we sold by the box but the Number 36 was an exception. It was about a yard long and could be bought individually. It was best to plant it in the ground and then stand back and watch it burn. It burned so long the wire became too hot to hold.

When sparklers became available without the metal wire, I expected they would be a good seller and ordered a supply. I found customers only bought them once for they were vastly inferior to the wire kind. Now that the wire sparklers are going away, I hope the manufacturing process has changed and the alternatives that will be available this year are much improved.

While at Lovewell Lake many people huddled much of the weekend in their campers or shivered while sitting in their lawn chairs, Joan Frum, a Superior High School classmate of mine from the Webber community, reported her grandchildren went swimming. One was four and the other 15. They told her they had to maintain the tradition of swimming in Lovewell Lake when the family gathered for a Memorial Weekend reunion. The other grandchidren, ages three to 18, just went in up to their knees while grandmother remained watching and shivering on the bank.