That set the stage for Don and Dave Beck;  two sons of long-time friends who lived on Orchard Island. The same year of the flaming wagon, Don and a friend of his, Cal Gebhart, went down to Trotwood, Ohio to the United Fireworks Company. They spent all the money they had for fireworks. They brought the fireworks home and set them off at Orchard Island. They had so much fun that the next year, Don started collecting money from businesses to help pay for the fireworks. He collected money from Millersport Bank, Millersport Marina, Orchard Island residents and others.

    My father was not particularly fond of most kids, but he had a genuine fondness for Don and Dave. So when Don asked Dad if he wanted to chip in for fireworks  between his fondness for Don and the fiasco with the hay wagon  he was happy to give a generous donation. It was that year, as far as my father and I are concerned, that the Buckeye Lake fireworks display began. One summer during a show, a big 15 inch shell went dead in the tube. The boys were both keenly aware that sometimes when you think a shell is a dud, it will blow up when you least expect it. So they poured a bucket of water down the tube and Dave reached in and pulled out the dud. He threw it in one of the buckets of water that were always kept close by. But now their launch tube was filled with water. Certainly, you all know how they got the water out of a tube, don't you? You blow it out with a new shell. Except it didn¹t work exactly as they expected. The water kept the shell from getting its full power. It blew up way low, went sideways a couple of times, and zigzagged toward a boat. It went into the lake right next to the boat after scattering hot ashes and sparks all over it. The good news is no harm was done to the old varnished Chris Craft that a little soap and water wouldn't cure. The bad news was it was MY boat.

    Each year when Don was collecting money, Dad would say, “I want more and I want bigger. Can you give me more booms?” He would hand Don more money until one year around 1970, Dad said, “Hey, since I am donating most of the money, can we move the fireworks from Orchard to Journal Island?” From then on, every Fourth of July morning Don and Dave would pile all the shells and tubes into their Dad's boat, buzz over to Journal Island, dig the holes for the tubes, and lay the canvas cover from their father's Chris Craft over all the shells to keep them dry. In 1975, at the end of the night, they cleaned up the mess, rolled up the tarp, and threw in the back of their dad's boat and went home to bed. At about 3 a.m. a neighbor yelling “Don Beck, Don Beck” awakened the entire Beck family. It wasn't until the neighbor said, “Your boathouse is on fire.” that all 10 feet hit the floor at the same time. They bumped into each other trying to get down the stairs. The canvas tarp had been harboring a smoldering ash until it finally burst into flames. As it turned out, only the tarp was on fire, and they promptly threw it into the lake. Neither their father's boat nor boathouse was damaged.

    In 1974, Don had to start obtaining permits and getting insurance for the fireworks. Until then, it was sort of a free-for-all, but laws changed to make it more difficult to buy the big shells. The twins always used every precaution to ensure a safe holiday for everyone involved. Some of you might remember the flag that was lit at the end of the dock on Journal Island after the finale. What you may not know is that flag was a present to Dad from the twins. Every year they would hand him the flare when they were done, and he would walk to the end of the dock to light the flag with a child's smile on his face. 1976 was the last year they lit the fireworks for dad. They were starting families and their businesses, so playing with explosives was not an alternative for them anymore. From 1976 until 1994, Dad had a professional fireworks company set off a fireworks show from Journal Island. It was a perfect backdrop to his all-day annual personal party. However, he was always amazed at how many boats and people anticipated his display. He dearly loved hearing the boat horns honk after a particularly good one exploded.

    Dad passed away in June 1994, but not before leaving a legacy for Buckeye Lake. He set up a trust at the Columbus Foundation that provides $10,000 a year for an annual Buckeye Lake fireworks show.
In 1994, the Buckeye Lake Area Civic Association took over the arrangements. Due to the short notice, ODNR gave the BLACA permission to launch from Fairfield Beach which is the current site. Journal Island was purchased by John F. Wolfe who didn't want to continue the fireworks tradition on the island. However, he did lend a barge to BLACA for a launch site. The barge was anchored just to the west of Journal Island at the widest part of the lake. The barge was used from 1995 to 1999 until the show outgrew it. In 2000, my cousin and Ed's son, Andy Wolfe offered his front yard on the south side of the lake for our launch site. By the way, this is the same front yard where the hay wagon caught on fire in the 1960s. This was our launch site for four years until Andy started constructing his new home.

    In 2004, ODNR gave us permission again to use Pug Island off Fairfield Beach. God willing, this will be BLASST's permanent home. In 1995, my West Bank neighbor, Leanne Piolata, with some help from Tully Rogers, started collecting donations door-to-door to supplement the $10,000 trust fund money. In 1997, Leanne introduced the luminaries as a safer and longer lasting alternative to flares to light the shoreline. The profit from luminary sales went into the fireworks fund. 

    In 1998, I joined Leanne in soliciting donations and in selling luminaries and now t-shirts to raise more money for a bigger show. We started writing letters to The Beacon updating readers on our progress and seeking mail-in donations. The more frequently we wrote, the more we received in donations. We got more money for bigger shows and most importantly others volunteered to help us raise money. Charlie Prince, the owner of The Beacon, was a huge help and still is today. We became known as the “Two round women on the golf cart,” and that's what we were. In 1999, Leanne got a radio station to do a music simulcast for the show. It was a hit! The simulcast is still now a regular part of our show.

    2002 was a big year. Leanne retired after years of this stressful volunteer work. I took hold of the reins alone following what my father had started, but not without help here and there. It seemed like I filled out hundreds of pages, but I was granted formal non-profit status as a 501 (C) 3 organization by the IRS. That made donations tax deductible and ended our annual scramble to find a non-profit organization that could accept the trust fund money. Our 4th of July celebration was now an independent organization. My first order of business was to run a contest for a new name for our tradition. Steve Bush of Millersport was the winner with BLASST  Buckeye Lake Area Star Spangled Tradition. How perfect was that? That year I asked for volunteers to go door-to-door in their neighborhoods. Many wonderful volunteers stepped forward. They were appropriately nicknamed “Lightening Bugs.” Because these folks were known in their neighborhoods, donations came pouring in. The Lightening Bugs were a big part of where we are today. That first year, they were collecting a lot of cash and writing many receipts. That was time consuming and a general pain in the butt. So in my Beacon letters, I asked donors to mail-in checks. That killed two birds with one stone  donors got an automatic receipt and BLASST was building a great mailing list. Ooh, what a coup. I wish I could remember all the names of our volunteers and when I do, they will be added to this website. 

    Well, I thought most of my stress and headaches were gone. Many of them were. Not only were the Lightening Bugs collecting funds, but a new group formed calling themselves the Redneck Women. They were a fun loving group that decided to do something constructive while having fun. After a lot of work and planning, they put together a Redneck Women/Buckeye Lake cookbook. They sold hundreds of books and gave their profits to BLASST. This was the start of their service to the Buckeye Lake area. Since then they have done many great things for the Buckeye Lake area. They have done a Redneck Poker Runs and Redneck Golf outings that brought in thousands of dollars for BLASST and other charities. 

    Rick Rife and Rhonda Carte, better known as R & R, stepped forward along with Jean Arter to sell BLASST t-shirts. Between these three, I bet they sold four hundred t-shirts by themselves. Jean's son, Jim was a huge supporter of the night boat parade. Safety concerns at ODNR ended it after one year. Boat traffic on the lake for the fireworks show was huge. But many lake residents hold out hope that a night boat parade will come together for some summer night one of these years. Marty and Bud Springer came on board to help. Marty helped build financial support from local fraternal and service organizations beginning with Buckeye Lake Eagles, Buckeye Lake VFW and Buckeye Lake Moose Lodge in Thornville. Bud focused on t-shirt sales and distribution. Support from these organizations has been a Godsend for us.

    In 2010 Marnita Swickard brought her tireless energy to BLASST and stepped in when I didn't think I could do it again. Thanks, Marnita.

What started out as a family event has grown into a major production bringing thousands to our beautiful lake for our fireworks show. It has also grown beyond the ability of one person  even with a great supporting cast of volunteers  to pull it off. BLASST's future will be continued only by a new working board that will rely on dozens of new volunteers each year. We now have a 50+ year tradition of honoring our freedom and those who have sacrificed so much for it. With your help, it will be kept alive for another 50 years.