Lyndonville happy to welcome people back to celebrate the Fourth

Photos by Tom Rivers

LYNDONVILLE – Hannah Pollard and her nephew Hayden Woodroe are pictured at the Lyndonville school grounds today for the arts & crafts show. Pollard organized the crafts show with help from her nephew. She is also a vendor, selling products from her business, Catherine Street Quilts.

There are about 40 craft vendors at the show today, which is part of the Fourth of July celebration in Lyndonville.

There is a big crowd of people back in Lyndonville today to celebrate the Fourth. Last year’s holiday celebration organized by the Lyndonville Lions Club was cancelled for the first time in 46 years due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

Some highlights later today include The Who Dats performing from 7 p.m. until the start of the fireworks show at 10 p.m. by Young Explosives. The school grounds will be open for the fireworks show.

Jason Smith, a member of the Lions Club and Lyndonville school district superintendent, grills hot dogs for the Lions Club booth.

The Lions Club is grateful to be hosting the festival again today. Most of the activities are back with the notable exception of the parade.

“It’s absolutely wonderful,” Bruce Schmidt, Lions Club president, said about the return of the festival. “It’s great to see people come out and participate.”

Jeff Johnson of the Lions Club raises the American flag with Dylan Kage of the Honor Guard to start the Fourth of the July celebration in Lyndonville. (Click here to see a video of the flag-raising.)

Keystone Club Police Pipes & Drums head to the flag pole for the flag-raising ceremony. The group also played a concert at noon.

Bob Burtwell (center) and Scott Goetze, members of the Honor Guard and American Legion in Lyndonville, stand at attention during the flag-raising ceremony.

There are several new vendors in the arts and crafts show, with many people taking up hobbies during the pandemic and turning them into small businesses.

Lisa and her husband Kelly Liston are show at their display as part of HateCuddler Craftworks. Mrs. Liston started making home-made candles and soap with all-natural ingredients. The products have been popular and the Listons have been selling them at local farmers’ markets.

“We started the business in our house and it has just exploded,” said Mrs. Liston.

She makes the products in several different scents.

Deanna Papp of Lyndonville is selling creations made with recycled horseshoes by her husband, Al Papp. Deanna Papp and Judy Larkin paint the horseshoe artwork.

Mr. Papp, owner of a welding company, has been making the horseshoe creation for about four years. He makes animals , flowers, pumpkins with a beagle the most popular one.

Mrs. Papp said this is their first show of the season after all of them cancelled last year due to Covid restrictions.

“I love it now that you can get out and see people,” she said.

Michelle Higgins cooks the potatoes for the chicken barbecue dinners. Bill Jurinich is in back. The Lions Club sold all 500 of those dinners with chicken, baked beans and salt potatoes.

The Lions Club prepared 300 pounds of potatoes for the dinners.