The Fireworks Master

When Bruce Rosten extended an open invitation to a fireworks show on his farm July 4, 1989, no one realized where it would lead.

“Word got out that I was shooting fireworks, and we had maybe 150 people—counting cats and dogs—show up,” recalls Rosten, 56, who grew up on the farm three miles northwest of Wildrose, N.D. (pop. 129). “The next year more people showed up. It never occurred to me that it would keep on growing like it has.”

In 1993, when Rosten’s farm could no longer accommodate the growing crowds, he turned sponsorship of the event over to the Wildrose Lions Club. The club expanded the annual fireworks display into a community-wide celebration with three days of activities—a demolition derby, lawn mower races, antique car display, talent show, kids’ games, flea market, golf tournament, and street dances—culminating at dusk each July 4 with people spreading blankets on Wildrose’s golf course.

Last year, to better serve the throngs of spectators, the show was moved to nearby Tioga (pop. 1,125) where community volunteers helped direct traffic and collect donations. Thousands of people spread blankets around the lake north of town and eagerly awaited the thunderous booms and dazzling array of aerial sparks.

In rapid succession, 750 pounds of explosives created a work of art on the sky’s palette. The crowd cheered, oohed and aahed, and repeatedly erupted in spontaneous applause. For 25 minutes, nearly 2,000 shells and special effects illuminated the night and lit up the sky as far as 30 miles away. The finale featured more than 400 shells, which glistened in the lake below as they burst in the starry sky.

“The water adds a whole new visual effect,” Rosten says. “You can see the reflection of the exploding shells and all the colors.”

Rosten, a self-taught fireworks maker, has earned the title of Grand Master, the highest honor a shell builder can receive from the International Pyrotechnics Guild.

Making shells is an exacting profession requiring mathematic and scientific calculations, technical knowledge, and artistic expression, Rosten says. He specializes in canister-style Italian shells, and prides himself on the timing of each explosion.

“What I do is both art and science,” he explains. “The timing fuse is the heart of your shell, and if you don’t do it right, the shell won’t work. But I also love creating the design and seeing the final artistic effect.”

Growing up, Rosten and his buddies spent long hours reading books on explosives and building their own fireworks. His parents discouraged his involvement when they realized the dangers, and Rosten only needs to look at his missing finger tip to be reminded of the inherent risks of his craft.

Then he put fireworks behind him in 1965 when he left Wildrose after high school graduation. He returned 20 years later to operate the family farm, and his interest in fireworks was rekindled when he gave a demonstration on explosives to fellow volunteer members of the Wildrose Fire Protection District.

“I remember that moment so clearly,” he reflects. “It brought back a wealth of memories. It took me back to my youth, and I knew I wanted to start doing this again.”

Rosten painstakingly loads shells in his workshop all winter while planning the sequence of explosions for next summer’s show. He and his team of dedicated volunteers have a spectacular ground and aerial display planned this year to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which spent the winter of 1804-05 in North Dakota.

Like a kid with a new toy, Rosten is excited about his new computerized firing system, which will allow shells to be launched faster than ever before. “We are going to be able to do some amazing things,” he says. “I never thought it would go quite this far.”

Candi Helseth is a freelance writer in Minot, N.D.

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