During college I spent a season selling fireworks at a roadside stand in South Dakota. As you can see on the map below, posted at Buzzfeed, South Dakota is one of the few states where you can buy serious fireworks. We sold some pretty hard-core stuff, but I mostly liked working there because the packages were so pretty.
In any case, if you haven’t lived in any of the dark blue states, you may not have seen the roadside stands that pop up this time of year. Some are elaborate seasonal operations, but others are rather ramshackle. Fireworks for sale end up getting crammed into all manner of places. Lucky for us, in 2010 photographer Bill Vaccaro drove across the country snapping shots of these retailers.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 24
Andy The Nerd — July 4, 2012
I'm showing my ignorance here, but did anyone grow up in a red state on the map? If so, what on earth did you do without sparklers?
tinfoil hattie — July 4, 2012
Sigh. New Jersey. No sparklers, no fun. The only compensation: Unbelievably spectacular professional fireworks (paid from the town budget) by the Long Island family that does the DC fireworks. The tradeoff was okay, I suppose!
kaileyverse — July 4, 2012
Though, in PA fireworks are only sold to out-of-state purchasers unless a resident has a permit for a public display of them:
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/psp/4451/fireworksfaq/537214
SELLING FIREWORKS IN AMERICA « Welcome to the Doctor's Office — July 4, 2012
[...] from SocImages [...]
ididthatonce — July 4, 2012
I'm in a light blue state (Georgia), and you would not believe the number of fireworks stores on the borders with dark blue states. There are at least a dozen on the border on the edge of every major highway.
Sheryl — July 4, 2012
That map is out of date, most consumer fireworks became legal in Maine this year. I hope the novelty wears off soon because my dog was getting freaked out last night by all the kids in the neighborhood playing with fireworks.
Anna — July 4, 2012
Hate to be the party pooper here, but a lot of these fireworks are illegal and/or restricted for a reason; I for one think they should totally be left to the pros. They can be really dangerous, even the little innocuous-looking ones. I've never celebrated the 4th of July in the U.S., but in Greece fireworks feature prominently on Holy Saturday/Easter Eve, and there are so many freak accidents.
This is a really great example of laws or rules that communities feel comfortable about about disregarding. Anyway, Greeks as a culture don't have a lot of regard for such laws, but it's more interesting to me in the context of the U.S., where people tend to follow them more strictly (if you're in agreement with Hofstede's cultural dimensions on rules).
Sib6 — July 4, 2012
I lived in Ohio growing up and fireworks were illegal there (except for sparklers and novelty items, as the graphic notes). There were plenty of fireworks stands where one could buy serious fireworks, though. You just had to sign a paper saying you would only set them off in another state. And then, of course, everyone would set them off in their own backyard and no one did anything about it. I live in IL right now, and the sound of the neighborhood fireworks outside my window is becoming deafening as it gets darker out, so it's clearly not well-enforced here either.
Legolewdite — July 4, 2012
That map is off. It's been legal in RI for over a year. I wouldn't mind so much if people didn't like lighting them off to celebrate some random Tuesday night. My kid's trying to sleep...
bigtrevor — July 4, 2012
Michigan is now one of those dark blue states, although many communities are limiting the big ones to the day before, day of, and day after a holiday.
Frowner — July 5, 2012
I worry a lot more about fire than I do about minor personal injuries, honestly. I don't care to see large fireworks set off in the densely populated neighborhood where I live because I don't like it when careless people are waving around matches and burny things, especially in high summer in a dry year - there are already several serious fires a year around here due to smoking-in-bed-level foolery so I have no confidence in people's judgment. Luckily, our state only allows some fireworks, but I'd be happier if it were just sparklers and other tiny ones as it was where I grew up.
Charles Richter — July 5, 2012
Here in DC, they allow only "sparklers of 20 inches or less, torches, box fires, fountains, cones, dip sticks, non-poisonous snakes, paper novelty items, colored lights, and paper caps." Virginia and Maryland are also in the "Safe and Sane" category.
What actually happens is that people go elsewhere (presumably PA?) and bring back everything from Roman candles to M-80s to aerial cannons to what sounded like a half-stick of dynamite going off outside at midnight that shook the windows and set off car alarms all down the block.
Mashed Potatoes — July 6, 2012
Those are pretty fancy firework stands. The ones near San Antonio, Texas are just a step above fruit stands and yes, made out of wood.
Alicia William — April 19, 2020
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