OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE: Finley returns with a bang

Jul. 20—Nathan Finley recalls watching dazzling fireworks displays at Muskogee First Assembly of God's Freedom Celebration as a child.

He grew up creating his own displays.

A Muskogee native, Finley moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan when he was 14. As a teenager in Michigan, he started doing "small backyard kind of shows."

When he came back to Muskogee a couple of years ago, he met Mack Parks, who had a professional fireworks license. Finley also got involved with the Oklahoma Pyrotechnic Club.

He said he often works with Parks and now is in the process of getting licenses to be a professional pyrotechnician.

"There's a lot of safety involved," he said. "For every inch of shell you fire, you've got to be 100 feet back."

Putting on big fireworks displays involve a lot of hard work.

"But at the end of the day we get to hear the audience cheer," he said. "Seeing your work in the sky and hearing the applause, knowing that all that work you did meant something to somebody."

The fireworks come already made from a Texas dealer.

Finley said he likes working with 1.3G fireworks, which make big, colorful explosions.

"They're pretty easy to do, but you get a lot out of it," he said. "They're like the big flowers."

He said it's an exciting feeling to watch his creations light the sky.

"It's like 'wow, I did that, I put that there,'" he said.

Finley said making a living out of doing fireworks displays is a possibility.

"Now it's a hobby/second job," he said. "If we get enough support to do enough shows, I can actually make a living."

Currently, Finley makes a living as a converting technician at Georgia-Pacific.

"We turn the parent rolls of toilet paper into smaller rolls of toilet paper," he said.

When he's not working or doing fireworks displays, Finley enjoys spending time with his 8-year-old stepson and 3-week old daughter.

He also picks up trash along Peak Boulevard four or five times a month.

Finley likes to fish at Fort Gibson Dam and Lake Eufaula.

"I go maybe three times a week, when I have free time, which is not very often," he said.

Displays take lots

of preparation

Nathan Finley said he was in charge of the fireworks displays at last weekend's Party Like it's 1776. He said his work involved wiring and scripting the show, as well as setting up the fireworks and firing them.

The 10-minute show took four days to plan and 10 hours to set up, he said.

"You have to script the show on a computer, buy the product, connect wires to the product, go to the actual shooting site," he said.

The Friday night show featured a 16-inch shell, which required extra attention to safety.

"That shell had to be 1,600 feet from the audience, and me," he said. "We electronically fire. Everything is done by computer. So we're far away."

Finley said the best show he's worked with was the Sooner Skyfire show last November at Hatbox.

"It was basically a competition," he said. " There were five teams. Each team had a certain amount of time to set up a show an hour and a half long."

He said his team's show featured fireballs and big shells.

"It took three days to set up, though," he said. "My main part was creating the American Flag."

He said it took 10 hours to create the fireworks flag.

"I had to connect wires to actual fireworks, angle each shot to where it's shot," he said. "It actually looked like a flag."

There were 256 shots involved, Finley said. "They went up in one and a half seconds."

Kool-Aid makes

good bait additive

Finley said he goes fishing more often than he should.

He said his favorite spots are near Fort Gibson Dam and on Lake Eufaula.

Fort Gibson Dam is a good place for spoonbills and catfish, he said.

"As far as spoonbills, you need a big pole and a big hook because a lot of those are bottom feeders, you got to get them with a hook," he said. "For the the catfish, you just need to have a good bait."

A good bait is cherry Kool-Aid chicken, he said.

"You mix it up," Finley said. "You get the chicken in a bag and you pour a packet of Kool-Aid in there and you let it sit over night."

He said he has a favorite spot on Lake Eufaula, where he catches catfish, panfish and bass. He uses a lure for the bass and Kool-Aid chicken for the other fish.

Both fishing spots have their advantages.

He said Eufaula is calmer and quieter.

Finley also likes the moving water below the dam.

"It's cleaner water, cleaner fish," he said.

Trash is less during

summer months

Finley picks up trash on Peak Boulevard about four or five times a month.

He said he spends about an hour or two going between Gulick Street and Hilldale Elementary School.

"That's where the most of it is," he said. "When school's in session, it gets pretty bad. But during the summer, you don't have that much traffic around Hilldale. It kind of calms down a little bit now."

He said he fills a couple of 30-gallon bags each time he goes out. He doesn't have a trash grabber, but he does wear gloves.

"People like to throw trash out of their vehicles all the time, and that's not a nice thing to do," he said. "I like to keep the area looking nice."

Finley said he's picked up diapers and dirty needles.

He said the work has made him conscientious about his own habits.

"I don't litter at all," he said. "Nothing comes out of my truck. The other day I was driving down Shawnee, I had a couple of boxes fly out, I pulled over, got out, put them back in."

HOW DID YOU COME TO BE AN OKIE FROM MUSKOGEE?

"I just love the environment. Whenever I was a kid, everything around here, you got the waterpark and everything. I wanted my kids to come back to my hometown and experience what I experienced. And all of my family is here. When I was in Michigan, I got kind of lonely. I came back here because everyone I know is here."

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT MUSKOGEE?

"The people are friendly, there's a decent amount of activities here. And as you can tell, we're trying to bring more."

WHAT WOULD MAKE MUSKOGEE A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?

"More policing, cracking down on the drug abuse."

WHAT PERSON IN MUSKOGEE DO YOU ADMIRE MOST?

"Mack Parks. He's a hard working individual. He does a lot for Muskogee as far as sponsorships, getting things together like the fair. He does fireworks shows. He's got a lot of employees. He's got 30 towtruck drivers. He showed me how to work hard."

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU IN MUSKOGEE?

"Meeting my fiancé here and starting my family."

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?

"I like to provide for the community. I don't have much, but I have donations for food banks. I do what I can, volunteering, going along the side of the road and picking up trash.

HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP MUSKOGEE IN 25 WORDS OR LESS?

"Muskogee is an outgoing, productive city. And there is a lot to do here and a lot of friends to meet. Great place to live."