Our View: Thanks to Vince Woodwick, may July 4 fest go on

Happy Fourth of July to all of the Hi-Line.

Many people will have a traditional July 4th that will begin with a stop at Pepin Park for the mid-day festivities and a trip to see the fireworks put on by Havre Jaycees at night.

The Pepin Park festivities will be joyful, with plenty of bands providing music, balloon-twisters and face-painters entertaining the kids, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts performing patriotic duties and volunteers passing out hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and soda. There will be a massive raffle with dozens of gifts to the winners. And politicians will be on hand to pass out leaflets and seek out votes.

But there will be an air of sadness this year.

Vince Woodwick, who with his brother Woody started the festival 12 years ago, is calling it quits after this year's celebration. Health issues have prompted him to step aside.

Woody has been in charge of lining up bands for the fest, but the work of finding donors, orgnizing civic groups, securing the food and arranging the publicity has fallen on Vince’s shoulders. He says it’s been great seeing the festival expand — they expect more than 1,700 people this year — but it has also meant more work.

There are lots of things that make Havre great. If you could package them all together and personify them, you would end up with Vince and Woody Woodwick. They exemplify the Havre spirit.

They had this crazy idea a dozen years ago that Havre needed a Fourth of July festival, and if no one else would start one, they would. They built it from scratch into what it is today.

We hope 1,700 people stop by to see Vince Thursday and thank him for the work he has done over the years and wish him well.

And we hope a few come forward to answer his plea that someone — some person, civic group, service organization or fraternal society — take on the work so that next year festival-goers won’t notice the difference.

May the Fourth of July tradition in Havre live on.