My grandfather was born on July 4, in England. He always said he had no choice but to emigrate because no one in England knew how to celebrate his birthday. His family moved from a coal-mining town in Northern England to a coal-mining town in Western Pennsylvania. In high school, my grandfather became involved with the United Mine Workers. He attended Temple University in Philadelphia but dropped out to become an organizer with the United Auto Workers. Finally, he was offered a job with the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, and that brought him to Youngstown. Yes, the English – in the form of possibly my family and only my family – are part of Youngstown’s ethnic stew.
Meanwhile, my father always had a streak of pyromania. When I was a kid, I never understood commercials for charcoal that talked about how difficult it was to light. My father never had a problem. His secret? An acetylene torch.
Needless to say, my father was delighted to help celebrate his father-in-law’s birthday.
The tradition of fireworks on the Fourth of July started with John Adams, who wrote a letter to his wife on July 3, 1776 telling her how future generations should celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence: “It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”
Hey, if John Adams said it, then we should do it. Lin-Manuel Miranda didn’t view John Adams as a hero when he wrote “Hamilton”, but Adams most definitely is to everyone who likes to blow stuff up.
Between the patriarch’s birthday, the pyromania, and general patriotism, Independence Day was always a big holiday in my family. It only got bigger when B.J. Alan Company, dba Phantom Fireworks, became a force. Fireworks are now as important to Youngstown lore as steel and cookie tables. Each year, families all over the Mahoning Valley save their money, clip their coupons, and make their way to one of the Phantom Fireworks’ superstores, supporting a strong and homegrown, hometown company.
As Youngstown has often been the home of dodgy activities, it is no surprise that the first fireworks operations were, well, dodgy. In 1985, an illegal fireworks operation in Beaver Township, in the southern part of Mahoning County, exploded. The resulting fireball killed nine people, left a five-foot deep crater, and was heard in my sister’s high-school classroom about ten miles away. Despite that tragedy, Youngstowners have embraced legal fireworks and the headquarters operations of Phantom Fireworks.
Bruce Zoldan started his fireworks empire on a different track. He worked for several years at the B.J. Alan Company distributing rack merchandise to retailers that included sparklers and other novelties in the summer season. According to company history, the company began doing business as Phantom Fireworks in 1977, acquired a sparkler manufacturer in 1985, and began importing and distributing large-scale consumer fireworks shortly thereafter.
Fireworks operate in this strange netherworld. They aren’t legal, but they are condoned on July 4 – thanks in part to the lobbying efforts of John Adams two centuries ago. (One year in Chicago, we spent Independence Day setting off fireworks in a friend’s alley. The cops never bothered us – but they were out, because we received a ticket for parking without a permit.) For years, the only choices consumers had were the small retail novelties (sparklers, party poppers, snaps) and big, illegal m-80s. Only professionals could generate oohs and ahs. Bruce Zoldan’s contribution was finding commercial-grade fireworks of enough quality and consistency that they could be marketed to general consumers. Now, the average Youngstown backyard has better pyrotechnics than John Adams, or my grandfather, ever dreamed of.
As an established business, the company now has established business controversies. In 2019, President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on goods imported from China, including fireworks. In general, Youngstowners like tariffs because they believe that they will protect American manufacturing. B.J. Alan relies on imported fireworks, however – hardly any legal fireworks are made in the US. And so, Zoldan offered to provide fireworks for Trump’s Independence Day celebration, and lo and behold, the tariffs were lifted.
Youngstown is complicated. With its economic struggles and high crime rate, it doesn’t fit anyone’s stereotype of All-American. Most of its people are descended from people who once were considered to be inferior, whether their ancestors chose to migrate from Slovakia or were forced to leave Benin. No matter. Youngstowners may disagree on much about the world right now, but come July 4, they are happy to joke in line at Phantom Fireworks and smile at all the explosions. John Adams would approve.
