Another splendiferous Fourth
If you didn't crawl out from under the air conditioning Friday to experience the 82nd annual July Fourth celebration in Peabody, you missed a terrific party! Yes, it was a scorcher. It tends to be that way in Kansas in July. But it was fun anyway.
I have some results noted elsewhere in the paper about winners and numbers and all that pertinent factual stuff. But the best part is always the "feel good" part and again, as in past years, it was in ample supply on Friday.
I am not sure any of us have given the Fourth Fest Society its proper due during the past few years. The Chamber of Commerce sponsored the celebration for decades. As the Chamber membership aged and businesses folded, one concern was what would happen to the Fourth of July celebration in Peabody. About 10 years ago, the Chamber gave up the ghost and the Fourth Fest Society stepped up to the plate. And what a bang-up job they have done!
I confess I don't know who all is on the committee. I expect people have come and gone during the past 10 years. That is usually how those things work. But Brian McDowell's name has consistently headed the list of organizers. Brian is not even a homegrown product — he is a transplant. But, he has worked hard to develop the celebration and keep Peabody's July Fourth tradition intact. He has done it well. He deserves a thank you from each of us. So I will put mine here and I hope the rest of you, who enjoyed the show, make an effort to let him know. Thanks, Brian, for doing the job and keeping the Fourth of July a fantastic hometown celebration!
And thanks, also, to the many folks who organize gate workers, select musical entertainment, build set pieces, fire the aerials, coordinate the script, manage and feed the crowds, plan the parade and the kid's events, and do all the other unseen parts that make the day great for the rest of us. I don't know who all of you are, but you have my thanks and appreciation.
I had just a darned good time and thought it was the best Fourth celebration ever!
— SUSAN MARSHALL
