Spur turned out a fabulous Fourth of July celebration in Swenson Park last Sunday—an especially impressive event since it was the city’s first fireworks display in a quarter of a century.
Spur Volunteer Fire Department personnel and their families were the moving force behind the celebration, which began midafternoon with bounce houses, snow-cones, and a locally engineered 200-foot water slide on the hill behind the old pool house. The event was planned as a fundraiser for a wished-for new fire department facility. (See The Texas Spur issue of July 1, 2021, for background on the city’s current 1920s-era firehouse, with a full photo album at tinyurl.com/SpurFireHouseJune2021.)
The party continued throughout a pleasant afternoon in the park, with a homemade ice cream contest, a cornhole tournament, a patriotic costume contest, and a hamburger and hot dog dinner. As dusk fell and kids finished up their hundreds of trips down the water slide, families moved their chairs from under the shade of cottonwoods by the baseball field out into the open meadow to view fireworks.
Fire chief Wess Abbott and his crew did a great job of keeping things safe and entertaining. The music began with the national anthem and Old Glory waving from atop one of the department’s trucks—then segued to a 20-minute show set to pop and country favorites from Springsteen to Greenwood to Neil Diamond.
The department ordered the fireworks and a team of six firefighters set them off, according to Abbott. Bryan Beaty and Brian Barnett teamed up on the music.
Thought Abbott said he did not know yet how much money was raised until expenses are tallied, 275 burgers and 100 hot dogs were served up, hundreds of people from Spur and surrounding areas attended at $5 entry, and the lucky winner of the 50/50 raffle, Dennis Wyatt, donated back his $278 share for a total of $556 raised. More than a dozen local businesses sponsored the event.
If interest in the 2021 celebration was any indication, Spur has started a new tradition in its historic park for years to come.
For a taste of Spur’s 4th of July Celebration, see photos on page 10 And a full album of photos and videos at https://tinyurl.com/Spur-4thOfJuly2021
HOMEMADE ICE CREAM
CONTEST WINNERS
1st Place: Jan Worsham, Butterfinger
2nd Place: Ryanne Boyd and Donna Spinks, White Chocolate
3rd Place: Marcella Bilberry, Big Red
COSTUME CONTEST, ADULT WINNERS
1st Place: Kaylynn Hadderton
2nd Place: Wess Abbott
3rd Place: Brandon Boyd
COSTUME CONTEST, YOUTH WINNERS
1st Place: Gentry and Cooper Bilberry
2nd Place: Bailey Torres
3rd Place: KayzLee Arnold
4th Place: Myles Abbott
CORNHOLE TOURNAMENT WINNERS
1st Place: Wes Joplin and Tyler Luke
2nd Place: Justin McCormick and Cody Nienstedt
3rd Place: Derek Bilberry and Riley Abbott
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.
