Big – really big – thumbs up to Fourth of July at The Lake

People are still talking about it.
Luverne’s Fourth of July celebration was a big hit.
An out-of-the-park hit. Home run. Slam dunk.
Call it what you want — the event was undeniably spectacular.
Especially for a first-time effort by a group of enthusiastic volunteers, willing city workers and smart chamber organizers.
Please, please take a moment to scroll through the Star Herald’s website and Facebook page. The photos really tell the story, and we can fit only a few of them on our print pages.
The day was well-planned and well-orchestrated from top to bottom.
And, perhaps, the most striking thing about the day was the fact that it attracted all walks of life – and mostly Luverne’s own residents and their visitors and family.
Among the lawn chairs parked on the beach, we saw business owners and blue collar workers, young and old, leaders and followers, movers and shakers.
You name them, they were there. All of them enjoying the day and enjoying each other’s company.
For a town that never had a Fourth of July celebration, it was a proud day.
In the course of a year, the eyesore in the middle of town transformed from a weedy gravel pit with questionable origins to a beautiful clean lake, complete with a sandy beach, fishing pier, dock and parking.
It was the classic case of “build it and they will come.”
The site of all those people — many in patriotic red, white and blue — crowding the beach and filling the stands was an impressive testimony to the fact that Luverne needed this.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who made it happen. We now have another really good reason to Love Luverne.