Happy Birthday, America!

Round Top held its 172nd Annual Fourth of July Celebration and Parade on Monday, July 4.

The tiny town’s population soared for the day as hundreds lined the streets and town square to watch the parade. The event began with welcoming remarks by Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace Dan Mueller. Mia Aschenbeck sang the National Anthem. Fayette County Judge Joe Weber also delivered a short speech.

“To our visitors, welcome to real America,” Weber said. “Values and standards, honoring our law enforcement and service members – those are all things we do.”

The Round Top Rifle Asso ciation sponsors the event every year. Rifle Association President Michael Sachs addressed the audience.

“If we do nothing else today, take a minute to find out how and why we have what we have,” Sachs said.

State Senator Lois Kolkhorst delivered a lively speech.

“Freedom is the reason we celebrate the Fourth of July, and it’s the reason so many people are moving to Texas,” Kolkhorst told the audience.

The parade was set to begin with the firing of the town’s historic cannon. The cannon fizzled rather than boomed, belching out a stream of fire with little sound. This caused some confusion at the start of the parade, since the entries were told to start moving after the cannon blast. The parade eventually started, with nearly 90 entries. After the parade, the crowd enjoyed a barbecue dinner and music at the Round Top Rifle Association Hall.

St. John Fireworks Incident

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church held its annual July 4 Picnic on Monday. Thousands flocked to the tiny community south of Schulenburg for the picnic’s famous fried chicken and stew. Picnic-goers enjoyed live music by The Shiner Hobo Band, Dujka Brothers, Red Ravens and Mark Halata and Texavia.

The picnic concluded with a fireworks show at night. At one point during the show, someone pulled up in a pickup near the fireworks display. The person in the pickup threw a lit artillery shell into the spot where the fireworks were being launched near the church cemetery. The shell exploded on the ground, startling spectators. Burning embers went flying and ignited several small grass fires. The person in the pickup drove away. The Record obtained a video filmed by an attendee that showed the incident taking place.

Thankfully, no one was injured. Schulenburg Volunteer Fire Department staged two fire trucks and several firefighters at the fireworks display. Schulenburg Asst. Fire Chief Drew Brossmann said the small fires burned out on their own.

“Fire department and most of the people watching thought it was part of the show,” Brossmann said.

Mr. B Fireworks conducted the fireworks show at St. John. Company owner Tom Bargas said his workers did not realize what happened at the time. After reviewing the video, Bargas said the culprit should be prosecuted.

“Someone definitely threw an artillery shell and it started the fire,” Bargas said. “This person needs to be prosecuted.

“People like this ruin the fireworks industry,” Bargas added. “The fire could have gotten out of control. People could have been hurt. My workers could have been hurt.”

Bargas said that he would speak with the St. John Parish Council about security measures for future fireworks displays.