FIREWORKS VENDORS FACE TOUGH COMPETITION

JACKSON -- Dave Kinder likes his job so much that he wears a Black Cat tattoo.

Black Cat is the brand name of the fireworks industry's best-selling products. Kinder owns fireworks stands in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Poplar Bluff.

Since most stands just opened for business Thursday, it is still too early to tell what the best-sellers will be; however, competition is fierce.

Stands in Cape Girardeau County are open from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. through July 3 and will be open until midnight July 4. In Scott City, stands open today.

"It's a very competitive market," said Kay Wells, who owns Wells Fireworks stand along Highway 61 in Jackson.

Tough competition and higher licensing costs drove her business out of Sikeston about three years ago. But it didn't stop her from selling the products. She and her husband now live in Arkansas, but have been selling fireworks in Missouri for about 17 years. They operate stands in Jackson, Cape Girardeau, Malden, Kennett and Arkansas.

"I've been doing this forever," she said. "My father sold fireworks, and I worked for him. Then I had a friend up here and worked here during the summers."

After a few sales from the back of his father's pickup truck, Dave Kinder was hooked in the fireworks business. He operates stands in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Poplar Bluff.

"I've been doing this for 32 years," Kinder said. "I love it -- the noise and excitement."

Noise, excitement and appearance are the keys in creating a good fireworks display.

"People want loud and pretty, but it depends on where you're going," Wells said. For people who are going out to the lake for the holiday, loud is OK, but other customers who live in town need something less noisy, she said.

Some of the newest products are called Sky on Fire and the Columbia Discovery rocket. Children like to shoot the standard bottle rockets and firecrackers, but other popular novelty items are Indy cars, tanks and boats.

Prices for fireworks range from $15 to $150. Many of the higher-priced items are actually family packages that include an assortment of fireworks.

The assorted packages are probably the best value for people who want a good show, said Mary Ann Hoffman of Hoffman Family Fireworks stands.

Like most stand owners, the Hoffmans try to shoot the products before they sell them. But they don't always get the enjoyment of a good Fourth of July show.

"Our kids have grown up knowing that we provide the entertainment for other people," she said. Usually the family closes the stands a few minutes early, takes the leftover items home and shoots them off on the holiday.

Gary Ogborn, owner of Ogborn Fireworks, also tries to fire his products before selling them to customers.

Since both of his stands are along Highway 74, most of his customers are from Illinois where fireworks sales are illegal.

"Most people don't realize that you can't just set up a stand and start selling," he said. There are zoning restrictions in the city.

Each stand must be licensed by the state, county and city to sell fireworks. The average business license costs $25.