CO-OP PEOPLE
Having a blast!
From humble beginnings, family’s fireworks show draws ’em in by the thousands. STORY BY JODI BORGER; FIREWORKS PHOTO BY GREG SEEVERS
W
hat started out as a little backyard celebration just outside the village of Fletcher in Miami County nearly 20 years ago has evolved into an event that everyone can enjoy.
Mike and Cheryl Elsner, Pioneer Electric Cooperative members and owners of Progress Farms near Piqua, welcome thousands of their closest friends, neighbors, and relatives to their home on the third Saturday in July every year for fireworks and fellowship. This year’s event will take place on July 16. Even their “humble” beginning wasn’t all that insignificant; the event drew between 100 and 150 agricultural business contacts, family, friends, and neighbors. But now, the event has grown to several thousand in attendance — and that doesn’t even include those who watch the show from neighboring private parties or from safe parking spots nearby. “Ultimately, we do this to make people happy, especially those in our community,” Mike says. “You don’t do this for the money — you do this because you want to make those people happy. That, to me, is the challenge.” 10 OHIO COOPERATIVE LIVING • JULY 2022
