By Don Nelson
If the first frost isn’t reminder enough, then be advised that Thanksgiving isn’t that far off – which means the annual Christmas at the End of the Road celebration in Winthrop and the traditional fireworks show on the bluff west of downtown should be on your calendar.
Long-time organizer Doug Mohre, owner of Sheri’s Sweet Shoppe, is hoping to raise $12,500 in local donations from individuals and businesses to pay for the fireworks show, which will be on Saturday, Nov. 30. This year’s corporate sponsor is the Winthrop Red Apple store.
Last year’s Thanksgiving weekend show was postponed to New Year’s Eve because of fog.
Through the Winthrop Chamber of Commerce, Mohre contracts with Western Display Fireworks of Canby, Ore., a fourth-generation, family-owned company that stages hundreds of fireworks shows in the region, each of them custom-designed.
Although Western Display is based in Oregon, the Winthrop show is set up and set off by Carlton resident John Falleen, who oversees all the pyrotechnics. Falleen, whose full-time job is with the state Department of Transportation, has been coordinating several shows a year for Western Display since 1986.
Donations to support the fireworks show can be sent to the Winthrop Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 39, Winthrop 98862, dropped off for Mohre at Sheri’s, or dropped off at any downtown business, Mohre said.
