{"id":5513,"date":"2015-07-01T05:00:17","date_gmt":"2015-07-01T09:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=5513"},"modified":"2015-06-30T11:58:48","modified_gmt":"2015-06-30T15:58:48","slug":"pittsburghs-long-lasting-love-affair-with-fireworks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2015\/07\/01\/pittsburghs-long-lasting-love-affair-with-fireworks\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh’s long-lasting love affair with fireworks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fireworks <\/a>
Fireworks light up the skies above the Point in 1990. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Wilbert <\/a>
Wilbert Watson (front) and Tony Salamone stuff shells with firecrackers, fuses, and more in 1955. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"In <\/a>
In 1964, young and bemused Paul Rozmus “puzzles over skyrockets.” <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"This <\/a>
This just in from July 5, 1964: “Three youngsters crane their heads upward to get a look at the fireworks display… in Point State Park.” <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Fireworks <\/a>
Fireworks soar above Three Rivers Stadium in July 1983. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Emerson <\/a>
Emerson Venable: chemist, mustache aficionado, and impounder of illicit fireworks. (July 1, 1963.) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"More <\/a>
More fireworks illuminate the downtown skies, this time in 1986. (John Beale\/Post-Gazette) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Gawking at dozens of colorful explosions might not be the first way you think of celebrating a birthday or an anniversary.<\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s almost certainly the first thing that springs to mind when you think of celebrating the anniversary of our nation\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n

In fact, it turns out that setting off fireworks is a tradition even more time-honored than the Fourth of July itself. Some speculate that Europeans brought fireworks to America\u2019s skies as early as 1608 (and that\u2019s not to mention the thousand-plus years that fireworks have been used in China). English colonists even celebrated their first Independence Day<\/a> with a bang \u2013 this in 1777, a full six years before the Revolutionary War ended.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the fireworks of yore<\/a> were a far cry from today\u2019s elaborate displays. Early Americans delighted in raised platforms on which fireworks were arranged to create patriotic images. Gravity-defying rockets and vivid colors alike were few and far between.<\/p>\n

Now, displays seem to grow more innovative each year. Increasingly pure metals create ever more colorful displays. Lime green, violet, and hot pink fireworks might be next<\/a>. As if that weren’t enough, electronic timers and synchronization with music take pyrotechnic artistry to new heights.<\/p>\n

Aptly enough, much of this innovation centers on the official Fireworks Capital of America<\/a>. That capital? New Castle, PA, located just under 60 miles north of Pittsburgh. The town is home to two premiere pyrotechnics firms, both of which started out as humble family businesses owned by Italian immigrants. At first, they stuck to illuminating religious celebrations and traditional festivals. But both companies soon saw business grow. Today, their rosters include the Kentucky Derby, New Year\u2019s Eve in Times Square, and countless local weddings, fairs, and even backyard gatherings.<\/p>\n

Not that fireworks have always garnered universal adoration. Take the oh-so-cheerily named Society for the Suppression of Unnecessary Noise, which in the early twentieth century lobbied to restrict the use of fireworks. Or take a recent op-ed<\/a> bemoaning our collective fascination with pyrotechnic excesses.<\/p>\n

In all seriousness, fireworks undoubtedly have a dark side. Post-Gazette <\/i>stories from early as 1959 document the illegal sale of fireworks. In some photos, stony-faced vendors of explosive contraband are\u00a0marched to jail. In others, police chiefs pose alongside thousands of dollars\u2019 worth of impounded fireworks (including, in one astounding example, a Minnesota cache valued at $60,000).<\/p>\n

More serious still were the injuries resulting from celebrations gone wrong. Stories from throughout the 1960s, \u201870s, and \u201880s document burns, explosions, and even deaths. Many of the accompanying photos feature children with casts and eyepatches. To this day, such injuries continue to pose a significant risk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet used responsibly, fireworks offer considerable rewards. This Saturday, more than\u00a014,000 displays<\/a> will light up skies across the country.<\/p>\n

Fireworks also remain a part of our national heritage. Americans have staged pyrotechnic celebrations of independence as far afield as Antarctica<\/a>. And even when the outcome of the Revolution was far from certain, none other than John Adams anticipated<\/a> that Americans would \u201cforever more\u201d celebrate Independence Day with \u201cBells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Granted, Adams thought they\u2019d choose to commemorate independence on July 2. Still, the sentiment \u2013 and the celebration \u2013 endure all 239 years later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gawking at dozens of colorful explosions might not be the first way you think of celebrating a birthday or an anniversary. Of course, it\u2019s almost certainly the first thing that springs to mind when you think of celebrating the anniversary of our nation\u2019s birth. It also turns out that setting off fireworks is as old as Independence Day itself. <\/p>\n

Look at the picturesPittsburgh’s long-lasting love affair with fireworks<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":5520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[948],"tags":[975,962,972,1320,982,987,1033],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1990-fireworks-point-state_picmonkeyed.jpg?fit=1716%2C2209&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7991,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2017\/07\/04\/1980s-fireworks-fourth-of-july-pittsburgh-point\/","url_meta":{"origin":5513,"position":0},"title":"Gnarly Fourths at the Point","date":"July 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"It was a different time. 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