A Guide to Stacking Roman Candles

Reflections On 15 Years in the Fireworks Business

Today, as I sat at my desk troubleshooting complex website problems while staring at a computer monitor larger than the TV that occupied in my parent's living room for most of my childhood, it suddenly dawned on me how far Jake's has come in the time I have spent with the company. Next month, amid the hustle and bustle of the summer heat and the retail season, I will turn 30 years old. Pomp and circumstance aside, this conjures the realization that this will be the 15th birthday I've spent among the endless rows of One Bad Mothers and Excaliburs. 15 years since that first fateful summer adventure. 15 years of treasured memories and countless friendships. Wow...Where has the time gone. Not normally one for sentiment, I am prompted to reflect here today on a life truly defined by fireworks, by the fireworks industry, and the people who make who make it great.

My trip down memory lane started as most do... in a shoebox. A great big giant shoebox filled with pictures, like the Polaroids snapped below. The one on the right is of the first tray assortments that we ever made on our own. The one on the left is of Jake's son, Jacob, hard at work on the night shift :)

Digging deeper still, I found some great shots the pre-date even my time at the company. Here is the original sign that sat out front of the 4th Street offices. This sign remains a fixture of Lonestar Corner even today, though it is slightly faded these days.

I can also remember when this rounded out the entire product line:

Here is a great shot of Jake years ago inspecting the production of W515B artillery shells:

I have a ton of great photos from past China trips that I plan on posting to main website as soon as I get them scanned in. Be sure to watch www.jakesfireworks.com for updates.

That's really just a snapshot of the memories that I have from this place. I could go on and on about summers on the tent crew & Decembers in Louisiana, but really, none of that matters. In the end what matters matters most is the people. I have been fortunate to spend 15 years of my life working for a company that embodies the true definition of a family business. In that time I have watched the company grow from a small one building shop to a dominant world-wide force in consumer fireworks. Yet on any given day you can still find John Marietta delivering fireworks in a Semi, you can still find Jake pouring over the tedious details of every customer's order, still find Mick somewhere in the warehouse with a cell phone glued to his ear and a case of something new and exciting in tow. At Jake's we care. We care about the quality of our products and we care about the quality of service we provide to our customers. These are the values that the Marietta's carry with them and instill in their employees every day.

I hope you have enjoyed my little trip through history no matter how brief it has been. I hope you enjoy the new jakesfireworks.com. We have put an enormous amount of effort into bringing you, the customer, yet another level of world-class service with it. Have a great fireworks season!

-Ben