University Daily Kansan, July 3, 1985
NDEPENDENCE DAY
Page 11
Parade will start festival to revive country's history
By Sherry Gering
Staff Reporter
Lawrence glass blower Dick Rector will slave over a fiery furnace this week so he can make perfume bottles, vases and paperweights to recreate a part of history.
Rector. 176 Pinecone Drive, will be just one of 51 craftsmans who will display their turn-of-the-century art at the third annual Independence Days. July 6 and July 7 for Burcham Park, Second and Louisiana streets.
"It will be good to blow glass in Lawrence again," he said recently. "I have always been the type of person who enjoyed doing things on my own and glass blowing allows me to do that."
"I think it's great that Lawrence is having a festival with community involvement."
He said that at the turn of the century a lot of Kansas hand factories operated. Glass items such as vases, goblets and drinking glasses were made by hand instead of machines, he said.
Machinization, however, has not entered the modern art of glass blowing. The hand tools that glass blowers use are the same as they were then, be said.
Reviving such arts as glass blowing is what Independence Days is all about.
"A celebration of the history and heritage of America's Heartland." is the theme of Independence Days. Judy Wright, coordinator for Independence Days Inc., said all of the festival's entries and events represented activities that occurred from 1880 to 1920.
Wright said, "Independence Days is a fun thing, it's a family thing and it brings people together."
Tickets purchased in advance are
*$4 for adults and $2 for children ages
5-12. Children under 5 will be admit-
tled. Tickets are nonrefundable.
*$5 for adults and $3 for children 5-12.
Tickets can be purchased at all four Rusty's Food Centers in Lawrence. Maupintur Travel Service, 851 Massachusetts St.; Littwin, 831 Massachusetts St.; The Jay Shoppe, 835 Massachusetts St.;马利aret, 727 Hills and Alamar
★★★★★★★★★★
Racquet and Swim Club, 4120 Clinton Parkway.
A parade that starts at South Park, 12th and Massachusetts streets, will begin the event. Entries include horses, carriages and no floats, Wright said. Floats were not around at the turn of the century.
But canoes were, and during the festival canoe and crew races will be run on the Kansas River.
In addition, jugglers and magicians will perform and numerous acrobats.
Jack Armstrong, 115 Yorkshire St.,
will do a magic show called "Old
Wooden Soldier"
"We are trying to re-create the favor of the old-time medicine shows." Armstrong said.
One of the contests is called the "Sheen to Shawl Contest."
Markie Bierer, 154 Eldorado St.,
chairman of the Independence Day
craft committee, said the Kaw Valley
Handweaver's Guild would have
teams that we make raw wool spin
and hand weave to create shawls
will then be raffled, she said.
And Wright said lots of old-time music with everything from "clogging," which is close to square dancing, to bluegrass would be at the celebration. She said the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, would give a concert with John Hartford at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Burcham Park.
Wright said. "It's really important to our festival that we have that real turn-of-the-century historical flair."
The point of the festival is to
See LAWRENCE, p. 6, col. 1
An aerial display blossoms over the Campanile during the annual fireworks program sponsored by the Lawrence Jaycees. Details, p. 18.
Merchants get blast out of selling fireworks
By Jill Ovens
Staff Reporter
Metzger's tent, like other fireworks stands near Lawrence, was set up in the room.
Fireworks can't be sold within the Lawrence city limits, said Vera
Warren Metzger started selling fireworks in 1890 when he was 8 years old. And except for the three years he worked with, he has not missed selling them since.
Metzger, who manages a Topeka salvage business when he isn't selling firewalls, said Thursday he had 19 stands set up across Kansas this year. One of them is a tent at 32nd Street and Fire Station 6, sold firewalls for the last 10 years.
Mercer, city clerk, and people can shoot off fireworks only July 2-4.
But Douglas County allows fireworks stands to operate in unincorporated areas, said Wayne Jackson of Douglas County zoning administrator
He said 13 permits had been issued for the sale of fireworks in Douglas County this year, a decrease of only 6 percent. A price of $10 to $100 effective this year.
Sales couldn't start until midnight yesterday and have to stop at midnight tomorrow, Kellum said. The regulations limiting days for selling fireworks have been in effect about 13 years.
Howard Pine, 1320 N. Third St.
who sells fireworks one mile north of Lawrence, said he didn't mind the regulations limiting days for sales because people couldn't shoot fireworks in the city until July 2 anwvay.
"If the kids have them earlier, they'll just want to shoot them off earlier," Pine said. "We didn't shoot it off until July 1 when a was kid at
The Evening Optimists Club has
Pine said his family's fireworks operation was a sideline to their garden center and greenhouse business. They have been selling fireworks at the same place for 12 years, with spent over 30 years in the business.
been setting up its tent in the same place west of Lawrence at the Royal Service Co., 3938 W. Sith St., for the club's owner, one of the club's officers said.
Arthur Diaz, secretary-treasurer of the group, said the club sold fireworks to support projects such as the University Science Fair, which it sponsors.
Some of the operators who have been in the business longer say they've seen changes in fireworks over the years.
"Fireworks are a lot tamer today than they used to be," Metzger said. The party snappers, or poppers.
See FIREWORKS, p. 6, col. 5
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