Our country celebrates its independence from Britain on July 4. On this day, American citizens celebrate in many different ways. In Henry County, we have celebrated with fireworks from Memorial Park since 1926. The park itself was opened in 1921, the idea of Salem Shiveley. It serves as a memorial to those who lost their lives in conflicts since WWI. It is, in fact, a living memorial to those brave souls. And, it is there, on July 4 for the last 90 years, that Henry County folks have celebrated the holiday. One of the newest monuments will be a memorial bench in honor of Ulysses “Bud” Bush. Donations may be sent to the Henry County Historical Society. Here are some items at the Museum about the history of the park and fireworks displays.
This article mentions the year the fireworks began:
Here is a description of the setup from 1928:
I liked the quote from the dedication ceremony from 1923 about Mr. Shiveley:
Believe it or not, the fireworks show has been rained out in the past! In 1935, they postponed the show, but people still came out to the park and got stuck in the mud.
