NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Fireworks stands across the region didn’t linger much longer than the smoke produced by the products sold at the makeshift stores.
For Kieffer Shelton, 15, of Springdale, the real work begins after Independence Day celebrations end - although it doesn’t last long.
“We do a lot of packing and unpacking,” Shelton said Monday while packingboxes with unsold fireworks under an Uncle Sam’s tent at the corner of Old Missouri Road and Robinson Street in Springdale.
“It’s really not too hard,” he said. “We weren’t even really busy most of the time - until yesterday. And then it got crazy.”
Monday capped a wild week for Robyn Stutts, director of the nonprofit organization Fayetteville Young Life, who oversaw the operations of a Freedom Fireworks stand at Mission Boulevard and Greenview Drive in Fayetteville.
“Brett and Jodi Unger, who own Freedom Fireworks, called me and said that if we would man the stand they’d donate half of the profits to our organization,” Stutts said.
When asked how her first experience with fireworks sales went, Stutts had a simple answer.
“Oh my,” she exclaimed with a bit of a laugh. “I didn’t know much about fireworks before this. Let’s just say I know a lot more now.”
One lesson Stutts learned was to have a lot of good helpers.
“We had so much fun,” Stutts said. “We had about 10 high school volunteers that came out to help us.
“They didn’t have anything else to do so they justhung out with us all day. At one point we had to remind them that we were working and not just here to hang out and watch movies.”
Stutts said the slow midweek sales had its benefits almost as much as the monetary gains from weekend sales.
“It brought the kids together,” she said. “We had a project to work on together, and we accomplished it together.”
While Stutts and the Young Life group enjoyed their first experience, Andy Clark, one of the owners of Uncle Sam’s fireworks in Hindsville, is waiting to see how a new city ordinance passed in Fayetteville will effect his business.
Uncle Sam’s, which has been in Hindsville since 2005, got its start in Searcy in 1978. Uncle Sam’s provided 43 sites with fireworks throughout the region.
“I think the ordinance in Fayetteville was a little rushed,” Clark said. “I’m not sure the bucket [of money] was as big as some people imagined it was, but we’ll see.”
The change in city policy allowed fireworks to be sold and discharged within the city limits for the first time in years, and it didn’t take long for vendors to take advantage of the opportunity.
At least 21 stands popped up around the city and generated more than $10,000 in permit fees and $18,000 in sales taxes, according to city officials.
Clark hopes the city will revisit the ordinance before next year’s holiday.
“Hopefully they’ll come to the vendors and say, ‘Hey, how do you want this thing to look,” Clark said. “We’d at least like to have a little input in the ordinance because, if I understand it correctly, they copied another city’s ordinance, so if that ordinance had problems then we just brought them here.”
Clark said he wasn’t aware of any major problems this year so far.
“It was nice to be able to be in the city,” he said. “But I don’t think it will change much as far as overall sales for us.”
Business as usual is good for Clark.
“This is a weird business anyway,” he said. “It’s a lot like fishing where you have to spend a lot of time setting up your boat and tackle box and all that stuff and then wait and wait and hope something good happens.
“My guess is we’ll do it all again next year.”
At the Springdale Uncle Sam’s location, stand operator Mike Beshires welcomed the holiday rush. Beshires had two fireworks stands in Springdale and one in Tontitown.
“It was my first year doing this and it was a lot of fun,” Beshires said. “We set up, I guess, around the 28th of June, but yesterday [July 4] was a madhouse.
“It was totally worth it, though.”
While the tents can be operated until July 10 in Springdale, Beshires’ crew broke theirs down Monday.
“It’s fun, but now it’s over,” Beshires said, letting out a deep sigh of relief. “It was a long 15 days, but I’ve got a 1-year-old daughter and you gotta do what you gotta do to feed babies.”
Fireworks stands are a recent addition to Beshires’ methods of providing food for his family. He owns Fat Mike’s barbecue, which is located inside the Handimart No. 1 in Springdale at 707 N. Old Missouri Road. He is also the manager of the gas and convenience store.
“This was definitely something different,” he said. “I don’t think there will be another opportunity to sell fireworks this year, but we’ll be back at it next year, I’msure.”
Besides providing Shelton with a summer job, working at the Uncle Sam’s tent gave him inside information on what to buy for personal use.
“I bought loads of fireworks,” Shelton said. “But I only bought the small ones that blow up big.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 07/06/2010