HAMLET – The July Fourth evening skies above Hamlet were ablaze with a multitude of fireworks as thousands watched from the Hamlet Depot, the City Lake, their yards, and front porches. It was an evening that many had been anticipating for two years due to the cancellation of the 2017 fireworks by the City of Hamlet.
An array of activities was available in the Main Street area which was blocked off to local traffic to allow those celebrating downtown access between the vendors, the live music, and the extremely popular giant water sprinkler set up by the Hamlet Fire Department. Members of the FreeWorship Church of Rockingham and Cheraw passed out “goody bags” with an assortment of patriotic items in front of the Hamlet Museum.
Stephanie Thornsbury, Hamlet’s museum manager and downtown coordinator, was dashing all around the Depot area throughout the evening, making sure that everything was going smoothly. “I want this event to be like a backyard barbeque,” she said, rushing across Main Street to a food truck set up in the parking lot near the Tornado Building.
William Thames takes his food truck throughout the region, with a portion of his proceeds donated to the Wounded Warriors Project. Thames’ father served in World War II so he has a special place in his heart for the military. Menu items ranged from hot dogs and hamburgers to candy apples and funnel cakes to fresh-squeezed lemonade and homemade pork skins.
Another well-known area vendor, Kona Ice, was kept busy throughout the evening while parked in front of the Hamlet Depot. Brix Cribb, nephew of Steven Cribb, shared that he was helping his uncle this summer with the business. Kona Ice in Hamlet has four trucks and they are all out at different events today, he said. Brix lives in McColl, SC, serving on the volunteer fire department there. He attends Saint Andrews University in Laurinburg and also plays baseball there.
The Jonathan Robinson Trio, which includes John Martin, Wayne Humphries, and Jonathan Robinson, played a variety of music in the long shady porch beside the museum throughout the evening, ranging from the 60’s up. Many in attendance sang along to familiar songs. Even the young children danced gleefully on the commemorative bricks that are placed there in honor and memory of our loved ones from Hamlet and Richmond County.
As the skies darkened and more people arrived to set up to observe the fireworks at the Depot area, dozens of happy children continued to play with old and new friends. Many families and individuals alike brought blankets and towels, as well as folding chairs, while others simply laid on the grass gazing in the direction of Hamlet City Lake.
The show began around 9:20 p.m. and a multitude of colors, designs, and combinations filled the air. Most of the chatter that led up to the beginning of the fireworks died away, and for about 40 minutes, it seemed that the majority of the people actually focused on something besides their electronics and their problems and their political differences. They focused on the skies, the bright colors, and the freedom we enjoy as Americans.
I know I am proud to be an American, and to live in Hamlet, North Carolina – How about you?
