Port Clinton celebrates July Fourth with pageant, duckies and fireworks
PORT CLINTON - When 34-year-old Ashley Sanders stood before the judges during the Firecracker Cutie Contest at Trinity United Methodist Church on July 4, it marked only her fourth time competing in a pageant. She entered her first contest in 2015, took the crown, and started looking for the next opportunity to compete.
“I always wanted to be in pageants, but my parents didn’t put me in them, so I waited until I was old enough to do it myself,” she said. “I just wanted to be a princess. I was the biggest tomboy, but I love to dress up.”
The Firecracker Cutie Contest was part of a full day of Fourth of July events held throughout Port Clinton.
Firecracker Cutie worked her way up to Queen
Sanders earned a crown in the 2022 Firecracker Cutie Contest, and this year, she was named Firecracker Grand Supreme Queen.
“It’s fun, and little girls look up to a woman with a crown. Everyone wants to be a princess,” she said. “I want to be a good role model to little girls.”
Port Clinton’s festivities included the Star Spangled Squirt Gun 5K hosted by the Port Clinton Women’s Club. Top winners were Jack Hautz of Cleveland with time of 15:46 and Amy Simpson of Manassas, Virginia, with a time of 25:20. A classic car, truck and cycle show hosted by Kenny Holcomb featured music by Cruisin’ Zeke. Among the vintage vehicles was a 1952 M38, Korean War era Willys Jeep that Capt. Scott Montefusco was driving across the country. Montefusco, a retired Marine Corps captain and retired FBI agent, is following the same path that Horatio Nelson Jackson took in 1903 when he became the first person to drive across the country by car.
As he travels, Montefusco talks to kids about the importance of service.
“I want to inspire young people to step up and serve as First Responders or in the military, and I want to help them take an interest in American history,” he said.
Senior Resources host ice cream social at Trinity
During the car show, an ice cream social was held inside Trinity United Methodist Church. The event was organized by Ottawa County Senior Resources and funded by Crosser-Priesman Funeral Homes. Ottawa County Commissioners Donald Douglas and Mark Stahl volunteered as ice cream scoopers.
D. Gregory Fox once again brought the beauty of faith and patriotism to the Independence Day festivities with his annual Voices of Freedom concert performed by the Port Clinton Community Choir at Trinity UMC. The choir was accompanied by a piano, a pipe organ, bagpipes, a violin and percussion. Robert McMahon, music director at Immaculate Conception Church, served as soloist, and retired Judge Kathleen Giesler served as narrator.
The Incredible Rubber Duck Race drew a large crowd to Derby Pond, where spectators watched the ducks float, inch by inch, to the finish line. The race served as a fundraiser for United Way of Ottawa County. First and second place winners, Tina Hablitzel and Ed Carlson, respectively, each donated their winnings back to United Way.
Thousands of people sat on the beaches and lawns of Waterworks Park and City Park as the holiday culminated with fireworks over Lake Erie.
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Port Clinton News Herald: Port Clinton celebrates July Fourth with pageant, duckies and fireworks
