Our View: Pitch in for our fab Fourth traditions

Every year, Cloquet puts on quite a spectacular Fourth of July celebration.

But it’s a lot of work, and while most of the volunteers do their work with a smile and a positive attitude, they are always shorthanded, especially on the day of the event.

Coordinator Alyson Leno told the Pine Knot News that volunteers are especially needed on the Fourth of July itself.

“If we don’t have enough help the day before, it takes forever to get everything set up. If there are not enough volunteers on the Fourth, we have chaos. We need help cleaning up afterward, but there’s not such a time crunch for that. Definitely we need more help setting up and on the Fourth of July itself,” Leno told us.

That’s understandable, as most people want to relax on the Fourth of July and enjoy everything that is offered.

And there is a lot that’s offered. And most of it is free. Because that’s what communities do — give and give back.

We hope some readers will decide to step up and help out on the Fourth of July, just for an hour or two. Maybe a group of teenagers can get their friends together and help with the children’s games at Veterans Park? Or, maybe a few parents can rotate watching each others’ kids so some can help empty the garbage cans. And they need about a dozen people starting around 5 p.m. the day before to set up tents, tables and more, to get ready for the thousands of people that will wander through town the next day.

If a few more people are willing to spend an hour or two on and around the Fourth, we’ll all enjoy a better Independence Day event in our hometown.