By Kalvin D. Perron
Staff Reporter
BAY MILLS — Due to rain, this year's annual Fourth of July celebration at the Bay Mills ballfield was postponed until the fifth. The crew that was responsible for the spectacular display of fireworks said everything ran smoothly and safely.
The crew consisted of: Hank Bowen, Curt Mikolowski, and Kurt Yacuoni, who were in charge of the electronically lit 10- and 12-inch fireworks; Levi Carrick, Terry Carrick, and Dennis Carrick, who had the task of lighting the remaining fireworks by hand; and Jerry Parish, Phil Parish, Frank Toms Jr., Bryce Teeple, and Nick Garlinghouse, who loaded the fireworks into the steel tubes.
Many precautions were taken to ensure that everything ran safely. The area around the beach where the fireworks were ignited was cordoned off, the Bay Mills Police Department policed the area to make sure no one entered the vicinity, and the Bay Mills Emergency Connection, along with the Bay Mills and Superior Fire departments stood by in case of emergency.
Hank Bowen, who has been on the Bay Mills fireworks crew since the tribe began hosting the display in 1993, said that lighting fireworks of this magnitude is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. If even one firework does not ignite when it is supposed to, it could lead to death. Other dangers include: two fireworks colliding in mid-air, causing them to explode too low; falling embers which could prematurely light the other ones; and spectators setting off their own fireworks towards the crew.
“If one of the fireworks explodes too early, causing sparks to ignite a box of fireworks, it would probably kill everyone within fifty yards,” he said. “The sulphur from the fireworks would probably badly burn everyone within 500 yards. Not a year goes by that you don't hear about someone, somewhere, getting badly injured or killed.”
Dennis Carrick, who has been helping with the annual celebration for about eight years now, said even though it is a dangerous task they do it for the enjoyment of the people.
“It's nice to hear all the positive responses from the public. Even though we can't see their faces, we can hear them honking their horns and cheering,” he said. “I just hope people don't take the job we do for granted. It's very dangerous.”
Bowen said that even though it is a dangerous job and they are volunteers, he looks at it as his responsibility to the community. The crew assembled this year was probably the best one he has been involved with, he said.
Preparation for the fireworks takes about a day, according to Bowen. The fireworks are delivered by Wolverine Fireworks Co., and hidden at an undisclosed location. The crew then buries all the steel tubes, from which the fireworks are ignited, in the sand. The 10- and 12-inch fireworks are wired electronically to an ATV battery, and ignited from 50 to 75 feet away. The remaining fireworks are covered with a tarp. The 264 blast “grand finale” is wired before the show.
“Mainly we volunteer to do this because we enjoy it,” Bowen said. “But mostly we do it for the kids. Kids and fireworks just seem to go together.”
