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governor in the 1997 election, noted the difference between last July 4 and ‘this one. He said that last year the county was trying to recover from tragic flooding while this year the weather was “sublime,” but he also noted that the recent past was marked with both the attack on American servicemen in Saudi Arabia and attacks on Black churches in the South. He said the nation is “marshalling military security” to prevent future terrorist attacks, “But if, at home, we as Americans provoke similar atrocities, precisely what rights are we defending abroad?”
The speeches were preceded by singing of patriotic songs and followed by a wide variety of musical entertainment.
Most vendors along Gay Street appeared to be having a successful day as crowds were not overwhelming, but visitors seemed to spend more time in town, probably because the day brought neither the usual extreme July 4 heat nor the all too frequent cloudburst.
Before the fireworks display orchestrated by Richie Burke and friends from the Sperry ville Volunteer Fire Department, William Carrigan, owner of Avon Hall where the fireworks are held, reminded people that when the Constitutional Convention was deadlocked in controversy, Benjamin Franklin introduced a resolution that each day the Congress begin with a prayer to “The Father of Life.”
Mr. Carrigan said trying to build a country without God is like building a Tower of Babel. He expressed concern that too many are trying to cut God out of the picture.
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