Mark Wilcox/Daily Mining Gazette The Adams Township Volunteer Fire Department gets its message across with a dramatic float in the Annual South Range Fourth of July parade Friday.

SOUTH RANGE — It was a day filled with patriotic cheer Friday in the Village of South Range. From the morning flag raising to the fireworks at dusk, residents and countless visitors enjoyed Forth of July activities including a parade, games, food, music and dancing.

South Range Village Trustee and Fourth of July Committee Treasurer Terry Parolini said what makes the South Range celebration so special was the history the day has with the village. “South Range was incorporated in 1902 and they started celebrating the Fourth of July here in 1906 so it’s been a continuous celebration,” she said. “I know one year during COVID that it was not. I’m 66 and in 66 years there’s been a parade in South Range.”

After the morning flag ceremony, there was a flea market next to the village ballfields. In one field were bouncy houses for children and in the next field were sack races for different age groups. Those who were hungry were able to buy pulled pork sandwiches at the Fire Hall.

South Range Village Trustee and Fire Chief Mike Balma said the event was a great way for those who have not seen one another in quite some time to reconnect, and a way to reflect on the services the village provides for one another. “The department is all volunteer, and they all work together very hard to make things happen, and I’m thankful for it, because makes us a good community and brings everyone together,” Balma said.

Children and their families went to the Miners State Bank parking lot where the “Touch-a-truck” allowed visitors a close look at some of the village’s work vehicles. Those who were interested in the area’s history were in luck, with the Copper Range Museum open. The museum presents the history of the Copper Range Mining Company, the largest employer south of the canal during the mining days.

Copper Range Historical Society President of the Board Jean Pemberton said she loves the opportunity to share history with visitors on the Fourth of July. “People ask questions. But you learn a lot from visitors too, especially those that have family connections,” Pemberton said. “Up here, we’ve been getting approached online, which is of course, in recent years new. That’s always interesting when they’re studying and then they’re looking through their family genealogy, and they have connections here. I try to and all the volunteers, try to tell them what we know, and if we we don’t know something, we’ll refer them to the National Park or the Houghton County Museum or the Finnish archives or Michigan Tech archives.”

The museum is one of 22 Heritage Sites of the Keweenaw National Historical Park, which preserves history of the copper mining industry. The museum was not the only site being toured however, Keweenaw Brewing Company offered tours of the brewery along with a few samplings. Visitors could now see the heart of where the region’s local beers and ales originate from before getting ready to watch the parade.

The parade began in the afternoon on Trimountain Ave and then proceeded onto M-26. Multiple vehicles, floats and bikes filled the street escorted and directed by the South Range Fire Department, which also had an older firetruck in the parade driven by Village President George Eakin. Emergency vehicles blared sirens as parade participants doled out candy and popsicles to bystanders.

One of the floats was the Jeffers class of 1975 50-year reunion. Kathy Cleary (nee Anderson) she and other classmates wanted to do something special for the 50th anniversary and decided to participate in the parade. “Our class back in our ninth grade to our senior year won our spirit trophy at the school,” Cleary said. “We had really high spirit. We won that for four years in a row. So we were very proud of that, and just to be able to get together and reconnect with our classmates has been one of the most enlightening experiences of our lives. Some of us haven’t seen each other in years, some since high school.”

The float had the classmates gathered on the float in front of pictures of classmates who had passed away, so the whole class could be reunited at least one more time. This class reunion was not the only float from Jeffers as the current Jeffers hockey team had a float with a hockey net on display and a picture of last season’s seniors. Head coach Aaron Helminen said the team was participating in the parade as a way to show its thanks for the community’s support last season.

“It’s support from the games, the pancake breakfast, the fundraising through the season, all excellent support,” he said. “At the end of the season, when we made our trip down to the state finalists, we had a lot of donations. So just want to come back and let the kids show appreciation to the people that are behind them and and support them.”

Once the parade activities included horseshoe and cornhole tournaments a street dance with music provided by Rewind and then later karaoke.

Live music was played at the ballfields from Tom and Dirk and Super Suits. The day concluded at sundown with the lighting of fireworks.