Fulton County Ohio Media

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Last Saturday evening, on Swanton’s youth soccer fields, a crowd began to form around 6:00 PM and grew in numbers for the next four hours with people of all ages, dressed mainly in some combination of patriotic red, white and blue.  They had gathered to witness one of the best pyrotechnic displays in Northwest Ohio, the Village of Swanton’s Independence Day Fireworks.  There was some apprehension in the air as people kept checking the weather forecast on their cell phones, not knowing if the anticipated “bombs bursting in air” would be delivered by the American Fireworks Company as scheduled or by Mother Nature, at an earlier and inconvenient time.  As we all know now, Mother Nature was gracious enough to hold off the storm long enough for everyone to enjoy another spectacular show.

As breathtaking the fireworks were, what I enjoyed even more as I walked around the grounds before the big boomers began, was watching all the people that had come together to celebrate America’s 247^th birthday.  So many families, so many young people, so many adults, playing games, eating food, talking and laughing and just having a great time as they waited hours for that first rocket to take flight.  I could not distinguish anyone by political party affiliation and I am confident that many of the larger groups that night were a mix of political parties that had checked their beliefs at the gate.

It was only for a few hours but it was great to witness.  With the exception of 1861-1865, I do not believe we, as a nation, have ever been more divided.  I can only hope and pray our democracy will survive this tumultuous period of our history and we come together as a country for our own benefit.  And not just once a year to watch fireworks.

Click on the link above to access photos from the event. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.