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Fourth of July, Lander, Wyoming

Posted on July 6, 2009
Filed Under Personal |

Here in the United States, the 4th of July is special. It is our Independence Day—the day we commemorate the Declaration that “all men are created equal” that they are “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights”…rights that include not only life and liberty, but the right to pursue the ownership of property, the freedom to speak and the freedom to worship.

The founding era and the founders themselves were certainly not perfect, but what they were trying to establish was extraordinary in its time. They were convinced, however, that the liberty and freedom they hoped for would not stand if the foundations of Christianity and its resultant morality could not be maintained. Patrick Henry called these foundations the only “armor” which would make the nation invincible. It wasn’t the size of our army or navy, nor would it be the number of tanks and planes that would make us invincible, but it would be the soundness of the faith and goodness of the people.

All of that, I think, is nowhere more evident than what you see in small town America. And nowhere is that typified more than in Lander, Wyoming.

We spent the Fourth there and it is one amazing place to be on this holiday.

On the evening of the third, Dr. Bill, a local orthodontist, puts on a remarkable 4th of July extravaganza, complete with music, patriotic narration and a stunning fireworks display. The locals pre-position their trucks early to reserve the best viewing spots. We drove by the area at noon, and vehicles were already packed along the edge of the road.

The morning of the Fourth begins with the Lander Half Marathon at 5:30 a.m., followed by the pancake breakfast at 7. The townsfolk then move to Main Street for the Pioneer Days Parade and then to the local park for the BBQ fest. After enjoying the buffalo bratwurst, potato salad, baked beans and ice cream, everyone heads out to the rodeo grounds for a 4-hour show of bull riding, calf roping, bucking broncos, and everything else that a great rodeo offers. When darkness was fully upon us and the last bull was ridden, the lights were suddenly extinguished and we watched the greatest fireworks display I have every seen (and I’ve seen some big ones).

What a great day!

And what great people.

There are many ways you assess the goodness of a town. The primary way is how you see people interact with each other. We saw that everywhere, but the most poignant to me was what I observed at the BBQ. As we were eating our buffalo brats, there were two local policemen standing near us. It seemed that everyone in the town took the time to come over to them and exchange a slap on the back, a laugh or two, or some kind of close neighborly conversation.

This is true in any social system. Watch the interaction between those who have authority and those who are under authority. There you will see the strength or the weakness of the social order—whether that is between parents and their children, a husband and wife, a congregation and its leaders, the boss and the workers, the citizens and the magistrate, or the child of God and his Father.

It really is all about relationships.

That is why I love small towns so much. They aren’t too big to live together as neighbors who care for one another.

But there was one more amazing surprise that awaited us. The rodeo was just at the edge of town, somewhat elevated so that we had a good overview of Lander. When the fireworks had finished, we turned around in the stands and saw what I had only heard about before and what had really brought us here. It seemed as if the entire town broke out in fireworks—as if each house were now joining in the celebration as rockets zoomed into the air all over Lander. Fire crackers, red and white and blue bomb bursts high in the air; whistling rockets; sparkling rockets; explosions of all kinds. My daughter described it as being in the middle of a war zone. But it was a happy scene—an entire town, displaying their love for their country and their unity through a joint celebration.

One of the locals told us that fireworks were only allowed during the 4th, but the policemen wouldn’t really start shutting it down until 3 a.m.

Much of our extended family had joined up for a reunion here and we all stood in awe before this amazing display. We finally left, not because the show was over, but because we were all out of gas. But we headed back to our campsite with big smiles on our faces.

Thank you, Lander, for one of my most memorable fourth of July celebrations!

You can be proud of your town.

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