Lawrence County residents spent their Fourth of July with mixed purposes – some working as if it were a normal work day, others simply rejoicing in the spirit of freedom and many just letting loose and having fun.

Wednesday, July 05, 2000

Lawrence County residents spent their Fourth of July with mixed purposes – some working as if it were a normal work day, others simply rejoicing in the spirit of freedom and many just letting loose and having fun.

Many residents in the festive mood spent the day on the Ohio River.

Glenn Brown, Mike Lynde and brothers Tim and Pete Leighty, all of South Point, had only one thing on their mind – jet skiing.

"We do this every weekend," Leighty said. "It gets us out of work for a little while."

Lynde explained that the men originally were boaters, but all decided to drop their anchors and crank up their Jet Skis.

"We used to go out boating all the time and decided we wanted Jet Skis instead," Lynde said. "We’re just horsing around, having fun – and fixing to get away from work a little while."

However, this particular hobby is an expensive one.

"Now comes the hard part – paying for the gas," Tim Leighty said while fueling his ride. "We’ll probably spend over $100 in gas. We’re already at $70 and we’ve got three more Jet Skis to go.

"Anything you do that’s fun is not cheap," he added.

The cost would later pay off, however, as the men were to ski from the South Point boat dock to the private riverside dock of Tim’s father-in-law, Donnie Hackworth, of Burlington, who caught some fresh bass and bluegill – ready to throw on the grill.

"We do this every Fourth – have a big fish fry," Lynde said.

But Hackworth wasn’t the only one casting out a line and reeling in the fish.

Christopher Leadingham, 10, was also on the riverside, enjoying a day of fishing – but just for the sport of it.

Leadingham and his friend, Nathan Martin, 6, were casting their lines in hopes of reeling in some catfish.

"I caught (a catfish) yesterday, and want to get a bigger one today," Nathan said.

While some residents took the day off, others worked – including Nathan’s great aunt Marcella Martin.

As the boys cast out their lines, Ms. Martin sat in her lawn chair along the Ohio riverbank with the boys. She had a pen and notebook in hand.

"I’m just soaking up some sun and taking notes," Ms. Martin said. "I’m taking classes at Multicap (in Nitro, W.Va.)," she added.

Ms. Martin is working toward her certification to paint bridges in the Tri-State.

"I’ve got until July 14 until I get certified," she said.

Also at work were South Point residents Linda McKee and her brother, Danny Davidson, not on the river, but rather, in front of their home, selling fresh vegetables for families picnicking in the parks.

"We’ve been selling pretty good today," Ms. McKee said. "We always work on the Fourth because poeple are all the time barbecuing and people need corn, so we just go ahead and sell our vegetables."

One family in particular out barbecuing was the extended family of Ray Malone of South Point, who has 16 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all of which are female except two.

"We had a big family picnic," Malone said. "I’m so thankful that my family can have this opportunity to get together for the Fourth."

For Malone, the spirital goods far outweigh the material goods -fireworks and the like.

"When I think of Independence Day, I think of the freedom we have here in the U.S., and I think of the people who gave their lives to keep this freedom," he said. "Freedom is most important, and I believe if we all have a positive attitude in hope, faith and charity, we can all love one another."