Lake Nebagamon nonprofit seeks to keep July 4 tradition alive
Mar. 8—LAKE NEBAGAMON — This village can trace its Fourth of July celebration back to 1898. "There's a picture of a big balloon landing in town in 1898. The first mention of fireworks I can find is 1901," said Traci Bridge Longa, owner of Bridge's Bar and Grill.
It's a week's worth of festivities, she said, from kids races and a parade to a 5K run and street dance.
"The Fourth of July is a huge deal in this town and always has been," Longa said.
Community support, both in dollars and time, is needed to keep Lake Nebagamon's Fourth of July tradition going.
The Nebagamon Community Association seeks to raise $15,000 by Friday, March 15, to lock in a fireworks provider and a band for the street dance.
"We had enough money for the street band, so we can do that," new board President Mickey Christenson said. "We just didn't have enough money for a street band and the fireworks."
They're also looking for volunteers.
"We really need a lot of volunteers to help pull off these things and do them in a way that we want to be proud of Lake Nebagamon," Christenson said.
The Nebagamon Community Association dates back to 1976. Before that, Longa said, it was the Nebagamon Chamber of Commerce. The nonprofit organization promotes business and cultural and social activities for village residents. Over the years, that has included a community newsletter, Memorial Day services, parades and Halloween parties.
The community association is separate from the
Nebagamon Lake Association,
which formed in 1985 to protect the lake and enhance recreational opportunities.
"The lake association does a terrific job taking care of the lake, getting information out about the lake, working with the DNR. They just focus on the lake," Christenson said. "The community association focuses on the events."
The community association was rejuvenated in 2017 with a slate of new officers. "They did a really great job for the first few years," Longa said.
When the Lake Nebagamon Lions Club dissolved in 2019, the association absorbed the responsibility of providing fireworks. But lack of members, and the long board terms, led to burnout.
"It's been the same board since 2017," Longa said. "Nobody can do volunteer work for that long and still be effective."
The board had not met for a year, past President Dave Dinda said. The dwindling group decided to keep connected via text messaging. When the new board was elected in February, they found there was not enough money available for the fireworks and street dance.
Dinda agreed it was a case of burnout. "People in the group were good people," he said. "We did the best we could with what we had."
Fundraisers were not being well-attended and volunteers weren't stepping forward, Dinda said. Fresh ideas and new energy were needed, and he's happy new officers are taking on the challenge. Dinda is still a member of the association. He attended the first meeting of the new board March 4.
"I'm not going to quit," he said.
The board is already planning ways to bolster funds in future years.
"We're looking at bringing Bingo back as a fundraiser. We've got to get our licenses for that and everything," Christenson said. "The golf tournament. There's just a bunch of things we're going to be doing to help make sure we're not in this situation again."
Meetings are held at 6 p.m. the first Monday of each month in the Lake Nebagamon Auditorium. Everyone is welcome.
"Being involved in a service thing, there isn't the monetary gratification," Dinda said, but you can point out what you accomplished to your children. "We helped build this baseball field or we had this show. We helped this family out."
Monetary donations for the fireworks and street band are being taken at
bit.ly/48PqA5k
through Zeffy, a fundraising platform for nonprofit organizations. Donations can also be mailed to Nebagamon Community Association, P.O. Box 442, Lake Nebagamon, WI 54849; placed in the village dropbox outside Lake Nebagamon Auditorium; or handed to a board member.
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