A Holiday for Small Towns

Egg Harbor 4th of July Celebration, Egg Harbor, Door County, Wisconsin. Photo by Len Villano.

A friend of mine who moved to Chicago once told me, “The Fourth of July is a holiday best spent in a small town.”

I didn’t get what he meant until I moved away to Chicago, where I had always assumed the celebrations were bigger and better. But the local traditions – and the joy of seeing friends and local celebrities dressed like fools and tossing candy – are things you can get only in a small town such as Baileys Harbor or Egg Harbor.

On our peninsula, you get that rare chance to bounce among celebrations in several towns – and squeeze in a dip in the lake or the bay in between (see Grace Johnson’s guide to optimizing the Fourth in this week’s entertainment section). 

Growing up, the Fourth was easy for me. My grandmother’s house was located on the bend in Egg Harbor: a perfect viewing perch with plenty of highway frontage for a long candy-catching corridor. For others, such as Egg Harbor native Katie Helscher, the Fourth started early with a hunt to claim a spot. 

“For me going to the Fourth of July parade, it was the excitement of catching the candy, going with your friends to stake out your spot and watching the floats come through,” she recalled. 

Those floats created memories – the Thumb Fun hearse, the Fishstock party, the Main Street Market shopping-cart brigade and of course, the marching bands. 

I loved my time in the big city, but my friend was right. The Fourth is a small-town celebration, and few places do it better than Door County.

Photo by Len Villano.

Photo by Len Villano.

Photo by Len Villano.

Photo by Len Villano.

Photo by Len Villano.

Photo by Len Villano.

Photo by Len Villano.

Photo by Len Villano.

A child gets lassoed during the Egg Harbor parade in 2018. Photo by Len Villano.

Boaters in Fish Creek prepare to head out on July 4, 2018. Photo by Len Villano.

Dave Callsen leads the UW-Madison marching band through Egg Harbor in 2018. Photo by Len Villano.

Camp David’s Fishstock float – and the characters on board – have long been one of the most fun and flamboyant in local parades. Photos from 2009 and 2010 by Dan Eggert.

Camp David’s Fishstock float – and the characters on board – have long been one of the most fun and flamboyant in local parades. Photos from 2009 and 2010 by Dan Eggert.

The monsters of the Southern Door Haunted Mansion took on the Thumb Fun mantle in 2010. Photo by Dan Eggert.

A foggy haze cooled a massive crowd as the Rhythm Chicken wailed away at the 2018 parade in Baileys Harbor. Photo by Myles Dannhausen Jr.

Thumb Fun Amusement Park was a central part of Door County summers for 40 years, but for many it was also the highlight of the July Fourth parades in Baileys Harbor and Egg Harbor. Submitted.

Thumb Fun Amusement Park was a central part of Door County summers for 40 years, but for many it was also the highlight of the July Fourth parades in Baileys Harbor and Egg Harbor. Submitted.