BY DANI TIETZ
dani@sjodaily.com
Homer, Ill.-Traditions are important.
For Homer’s Angela Lawrence, traditions mean shared experiences with her daughter and the friends and family she’s grown up with.
At 43-years of age, Lawrence, who is the President of the HCIA (Homer Community Improvement Association) and the head of the Homer Activity Committee, has fond memories of being part of Homer’s Fourth of July celebration as a kid.
Hosted by the Homer Rec Board, the day-long event included games, such as an egg toss and a tug-of-war contest, before the community paraded throughout the streets of Homer and settled into the evening hours and fireworks.
Over time, though, the Rec Board dissolved. The town-wide celebration became a parade and fireworks for about a decade, then dwindled down to just a fireworks show.
But Lawrence kept listening to her grandmother, Edith Gordon, a Homer native who will turn 100 years old this year.
“My grandma is always like, ‘We’ve always done the Fourth of July,’ ” Lawrence said.
To keep Homer traditions alive, residents formed the HCIA (Homer Community Improvement Association) and HAC (Homer Activity Committee) a little over three years ago.
Lawrence, the President of HCIA and a leader in the HAC, said she’s involved for her almost 11-year old daughter.
“I want my daughter to have the same community memories that I have,” Lawrence said. “I do it because I want her to say ‘When I was little, we could walk up to the fireworks and play games and have fun.’ That’s my reason for doing it.”
Many Homer natives have the same memories.
“Everybody knows they go up (to Village Hall) and they will run into family and friends and people that maybe they haven’t seen in a while,” she said.
HCIA has moved the fireworks display from the local park to Village Hall, where, beginning at 4 p.m., families can play games, grab a bite to eat, shop from local vendors and get ready for the parade.
Lawrence said everyone is invited to participate.
“All they have to do is show up,” she said.
Parade participants can ride bikes, walk a dog, showcase their business or ride on a fire truck. This year, local marching bands, cheerleaders, political parties, police cars and the Sidney Dairy Barn Moo Mobile will join the lineup.
“Everybody throws candy,” Lawrence said.
The parade that heads down Second Street from Village Hall turns to Main Street before going down Wabash Street and Ellen Street, returning to Village Hall. The parade lasts about 40 minutes.
“It’s not a terribly long distance, but it covers all the main parts of town where everybody is,” Lawrence said.
Homer favorites such as the Homer Deli Belly, the soda shop and the Homer Bakery should be open during the parade.
Crowds are invited back to Village Hall for games such as a balloon toss, an egg toss, sack races and a watermelon eating contest.
A 40-minute fireworks show will begin near dusk. Homer hires a DJ to play patriotic music while a continual stream of fireworks burst from the ground into the night sky.
“It’s constant,” she said. “It’s not like two or three here and then you’re waiting for them. It’s just constantly going off and there’s always so many big beautiful high fireworks.”
Lawrence said the grounds around Village Hall are usually packed and the roads leading out of town are, too.
“We have people that line up on (Rt.) 49 outside of Homer by Casey’s that goes towards Ogden,” she said. “And then we have people that line up from Village Hall cutting towards Catlin on the Homer Catlin roads.”
“They know that wherever they go, they will be able to see the fireworks because they’re big.”
