The guy behind the fireworks

By STACY RICE
Sitting at the Coffee Club table at the Drexel Pharmacy a kind-hearted gentleman, Herbie Thomas, flips through hundreds of drawings.
The drawings don’t mean much to you or I, but to Thomas they are 50 years of labor in the construction of the most notable fireworks display in the county.
The pencil drawings on aged graph paper include Charlie Brown... a lady holding a watering can... Bugs Bunny chewin’ on a carrot.. and even Popeye the Sailor Man chowin’ on a can of spinach. Sure, some of these sketches are of vintage cartoon characters, but to Herbie they are tiny remembrances of the grounded displays from past 4th of July’s. Thomas and many of his friends have doodled the images to use. Most of the drawings have been put to use while others are ideas that may be used in the future. We’ve all seen them... we even have our favorites.
A lot has changed over the last 50 years, especially when it comes to Drexel’s annual fireworks display on the 4th of July.
In 1959, Thomas, at the young age of 28, took on a task that he didn’t realize he would still be doing today, a task that has earned him the respectful title of Fireworks Master. Thomas, having been a Lions Club member for only seven years, volunteered to oversee the first fireworks show in ‘59 and has been doing it ever since.
“I think the first show cost the club around $225,” comments Thomas. Today, that number has more than quadrupled. “The show lasted about twenty minutes, if I recall, and it was good.” Only one year was there not a show, due to Mother Nature, and that was in 1992.
This years’ show will be spectacular with nearly $7,000 being budgeted on the half century old tradition. Drexel Lions Club has taken pride in the quality of the fireworks they purchase, over price. “A fireworks salesman came to us back in 1959 and talked to us about the possibility of a show here in Drexel,” says Thomas. “That company, Wald & Co., Inc......."
Read the complete story in the July 2nd edtion.
PHOTOS: The ground displays that are seen during the show are handmade. On Saturday, the displays will focus on the birthday of Fireworks in the Park and the latest storm that swooped through the area a couple weeks ago. A few surprises are in store too! Thomas is pictured above with a ground display in the background and two different size mortar pipes next to him. The pipes will be used to launch the shells on Saturday.
Some of Thomas’ pyrotechnics crew for this year are captured. Left to right, Jeff Still, David Still, Herbie Thomas, Joe Ziegler, Doug Huntzinger, Mike Wheeler, Wayne Harris, Todd Russell and Chuck Martin. They will be working diligently through the 4th in preparation for the event.
Photos by Tim Rice