Building for future comfort

Fireworks Country invests in new warehouse building
By: 
Miriam Nelson
News Editor

“I should have done this 10 years ago,” said Jerry Bamke, owner of Fireworks Country, talking about the 8,000 square foot warehouse he’s having built on his property just west of Wittenberg.

Ten years ago, Bamke and his wife, Sally, had already established a good business been selling fireworks. At the time there was talk about creating a frontage road for highway 29 which would have run though their existing retail structure.

There hasn’t been any talk of road construction for awhile now and Bamke figures with the pandemic going on there won’t be any new plans made or old ones revisited. Now seemed as good of a time as any to build the warehouse and he hired local help to get the work done.

Paul Ostrowski Cement & Mason, Wittenberg, spent a couple of days doing prepwork for the floor and within half a day he had the six inches of concrete poured.

Kauffman Carpentry, Marion, came highly recommended by friends of the Bamke’s who live in Marion. In less than a week they had the framing done for the walls and the roof and by the end of this week Bamke figures the crew will have finished the roof and siding. The insulation of the walls and ceilings will also be completed.

Bamke estimates that he’ll have enough time to get inventory moved, from a couple of the trailers holding it now, before new shipments are delivered this month.

The structure is set up with large doors on both ends on the building so the semitrailers can drive right into the building, get unloaded and drive out through the other end. There’s another large door on the west side that will be used for trucks to back up for unloading purposes.

Bamke is looking forward to unloading product without having to consider the weather conditions. He recalled a time when they had to unload a semi when the temperature was 24 degrees below zero.

“It’s going to make it so much nicer to have the warehouse, we’ll have lights to work later at night and wider aisles,” said Bamke.

Christmas and New Years are busy holidays in the fireworks business. In the summer they have their annual Fireworks Extravaganza, which is a one day event that brings in anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 customers. People come to the event for food and drinks during the day, then watch an hour-long fireworks show from the bleachers at night. With order sheets in hand, customers mark off the fireworks displays they were interested in purchasing. There is a classic car show, mini rod and tractor pulls and live music.

The Bamkes, including their son and nephew, work nine months putting Fireworks Extravaganza together and invest about $20,000 before the day even starts.

The event was canceled this year due to the COVID-19, but it rained three inches that day so, “It worked out in our favor this year,” said Bamke.

With a new warehouse and more inventory on the way the Bamke’s are looking forward to the upcoming season and a new year.