Motorcyclists and police officers line up to escort runners in the 50th Annual Fireball Classic half-marathon, 10k , and 5k race Tuesday morning, July 4, 2017 in Wintersmith Park. This image was on the front page of the July 6 Ada News.
On a couple of occasions before, I have described how much fun I have covering Ada’s Independence Day celebrations in historic Wintersmith Park. Our community goes all-out, starting with the Fireball Classic half-marathon, 10k, and 5k races (this year was the 50th), followed by kids games, then grown-up games, then fireworks at dark over Wintersmith Lake.
I dug around in the morgue and found this page, my first opportunity to cover Ada’s July 4 fun, 1989. “PYAT” in the headline refers to the long-defunct group Proud Young Americans for Truth.
Having shot this event year after year has been more than a pleasure, it’s been a privilege to offer my view of this historic family-friendly piece of Americana.
A happy coincidence of ads and free space let us use a nice package of my images in color on pages 5 and 6 Thursday. It is my hope that everyone enjoyed the images, and that they spend many years tacked to bulletin boards and stuck on refrigerator doors.
