After the fireworks comes the round of applause

Another Liberty Fest is in the rear view mirror and according to all the major players – Chetek PD, Chetek city shop, Chetek Chamber of Commerce – it was one of the best on record. According to Chief Mark Petersen in his 39 years with the department it was the best (and if you know the Chief you know that's high praise.)

Here's a few factoids that may interest you:

■ Chief Petersen shared with me that they put out a “car counter” near the VFW on Saturday to get a count of how many vehicles were making their way out to the Fishy Four, the Craft Fair and the Vintage Car Show. When he asked me how many I thought they had counted I guessed 5,000. I was 17,000 short. Yes, you read that right: 22,000 vehicles crossed the marker sometime on Saturday alone! Think about that for a moment and then think on this: given all the people that were town over the last four days there was only 1 fender-bender, 23 traffic citations issued and no major crimes whatsoever (rape, robbery or assault). “What other town of 30,000 people in America could boast such numbers?” the Chief asked me.

Our driver on Monday, Mark Palma, who has been driving in parades for over a decade, assured me that the reason things run so smoothly here is credit to our police force who are efficient and professional in the directing of traffic and ensuring that things run as seamless as they appear to do. Indeed, every time I saw any one of the guys and Jessica this past weekend, they were going about their duties as they are wont do on point and with a smile on their face. Even Chief, who thinks the Fishy Four is a traffic nightmare waiting to happen given how many pedestrians and vehicles are in close proximity to each other over the length of the course, almost seemed to have a smile on his face on Saturday morning as I ran by him.

Almost.

■ Meanwhile, the City shop guys were busy picking up after all us revelers hauling – wait for it – just under 11 tons of garbage off to Almena over the past four days alone. According to Director of Public Works Dan Knapp, he shared Chief's assessment that it was one of the smoothest run Liberty Fests in many of years. The parks and the streets were in reasonable good shape afterward and in case you weren't paying attention, the city street sweeper was out early Tuesday morning giving the streets a good once-over. When that job was complete by 7:30 a.m. you wouldn't have guessed that just the day before the streets from Knapp to Douglas to Second to Leonard had been lined with people in some places a couple rows deep.

■ I didn't hear back from Jennifer Blatz, Liberty Fest coordinator, but according to Chief Mark between Friday, July 1 and Monday, July 4 “she never called me and I never had reason to call her” which by inference I take to mean things ran pretty much without a hitch. Think of all the people that were in town – playing ball, running the Four, strolling through the Craft Fair or the Car Show, attending the street dances or the beach party, sitting somewhere either on the shore or in the water watching the fireworks – and not one thing to write home about? That is something to raise an eyebrow or two and to be thankful for!

Plus the weather was nigh unto perfect – a constant light breeze, temperatures in the 70s, plenty of sunshine and low humidity. I don't know if we could have dialed up a better weather pattern.

So here's to you Chetek PD for keeping us all safe and doing so in such a capable manner. Here's to you City Shop guys. You keep us looking good and do so while the rest of us are hard at playing and contributing to your work load. Here's to you, Jennifer Blatz and your stalwart band of volunteers for your hard work in helping pull off our annual celebration of liberty. Here's to the wait-staff of every restaurant and eatery in these here parts and to the cashiers at Gordy's, Kwik Trip and all the other service places in town. I have it on good

authority that while most customers are patient and accommodating, there are enough bad eggs and jerks out there to make your job unnecessarily stressful. (To the guy who left my daughter a 1 cent tip – yes, 1¢ - the other night at the restaurant she waits at complaining all the while how slow the service was, well, there are plenty of other communities out there who await your largess. Feel free to visit them.)

Yesterday (Wednesday) as I walked into Gordy's it was clear the storm had passed. Instead of every lane and the service desk packed six deep with anxious customers a welcome calm pervaded the store. We live just a few blocks off of Second Street and as I sat on my front porch reading last night the town felt decidedly more settled after the frenetic activity of the weekend past. We can all now catch our collective breath. You may even be able to turn left onto the main drag for a change. It sure was fun, wasn't it? But, gee whiz, it sure is nice to get back to the quiet normal that we're accustomed to.