Chicagoan S. Peter Genualdi spends his days forming chemicals into small balls, then arranging these balls inside of a shell casing made of paper strips. The balls surround a little bag full of a highly combustible black powder which is attached to a slow burning fuse. When Genualdi fires the shell, it both sends the thing out to kingdom come and ignites the fuse. A few seconds later, the whole thing blows apart in a carefully planned riot of shine and color and hum and boom.
Genualdi is a fireworks expert, descended from a long, familial line
(”at least five generations back and probably before that”) of fireworks experts. His family owned business, called the Chicago Fireworks Company (3747 N. Lowell Ave.), has a Chicago office, but the plant and warehouse is in Kingsbury, Indiana because it`s illegal to manufacture fireworks in Chicago.
It`s not illegal to set them off, however, providing the pyrotechnic
(fireworks expert) has legal sanction. Among dozens of other displays that Genualdi will be putting on, he can be seen setting up firing lines in Evergreen Park and Chicago Heights on the third of July and in Blue Island on the fourth. Since this kind of volatile business carries with it a certain amount of risk, Genualdi carries public liability and property damage insurance which, depending on the job, sometimes goes even higher than Genualdi`s aerials (fireworks that explode in the sky)—-as much as five million dollars worth, for example.
Genualdi employs carefully trained and experienced operators which he sends out on the numerous jobs. Want to hire him yourself? It`ll cost you $140 just to have him make and set off one biggie. Average cost for a big show
–anywhere from $2,500 to 50,000 and even higher, depending on the type of celebration.
We asked Genualdi to help us work out a guide so that we could identify those fireworks most commonly seen in Fourth of July celebrations. He explained that besides the aerial type of fireworks, there`s a second category called ground set pieces (set up to flash and explode on the ground). These range from very elaborate panoramas such as the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that Genualdi once executed, to simple explosions outlining the American flag.
Some common aerial fireworks:
1. The Chrysanthemum: Usually made in the Orient and imported into this country, the crysanthemum explodes into a large round shape, with petals formed by a number of tiny bits of colored shine called stars (each little ball of dried chemicals put into a shell forms one star when it explodes). The number of stars depends, obviously on the number of balls put into the shell; the largest chrysanthemum shells may measure 12-inches in diameter and contain as much as six pounds of stars (the number of stars is in the hundreds) while some tiny chrysanthemum shells only measure 2 1/2-inches in diameter and contain as few as 18 stars. Chrysanthemum appear in any one of the five solid colors that pyrotechnics have available to work with: red, blue, yellow, silver/white and green. Or they may be made of combinations of colors; some chrysanthemums have an outer ring of one color and an interior of another. Or the chemicals in the little balls can be so designed that the star appears in one color and then changes to a second and sometimes a third color.
The Peony: Also made in the Orient, this firework is similar to a chrysanthemum, with the same color variations possible. The scope of a peony, however, is much smaller. The balls are arranged in the shell in such a manner that the spread of the stars is more controlled and the effect of the explosion is more contained.
Both chrysanthemums and peonies often (not always) are made with chemicals that cause a silver tail to form. As soon as the shell leaves the mortar (a solid tube from which the shells are fired), the first tail appears, having been ignited in the mortar. And once the shell explodes, each star appears, with its own tail aattached. The effect is that of a miniature Niagara Falls.
Fish: One type of firework–not necessarily a chrysanthemum or a peony
–made in his country simply explodes into stars, each of which has a tiny silver tail. The effect is similar to what it might look like if you blew up a breeding tank–each fish would swim off, in the air, in a different direction. Whistlers: This domestic firework, which explodes into many colored stars (they may be solid colored, multi-colored or change from one color to another), also contains a number of chemicals which, when ignited cause a whistling sound. Sometimes the chemicals for a fish visual firework is combined with the chemicals for a whistling sound and you have a Whistling Fish firework.
Hummers; This domestic firework, which opens with an explosion of stars
(may be solid colored, multi-colored or changing from one color to another), also contain chemicals which cause a humming sound, similar to a hive of bumble bees. Hummer chemicals are often put into shells which contain the chemicals for both stars and tails. So the end result is a Humming Fish.
Reporters: Some shells contain chemicals that cause only one explosion of stars, but are accompanied by as many as 12 different reports (loud boom sounds). The reports may vary in pitch and intensity, but the last report is usually a very loud, deep boom.
The Comet: This domestic firework is made with a particular combination of chemicals in each ball so that each star explodes with what looks like a long string of bright color. The overall effect, when the string of each star shows up brightly against the sky, resembles a weeping willow or an octopus.
Comets are often made with what the trade calls two or three breaks. This happens when two or three separate shells (each containing chemical balls) are put together and fired as one unit; two of the shells explode into two sets of stars–causing what looks like a double willow, for example. A third shell can be added so that there is an accompanying sound (known as a report in the trade), usually a boom. A shell sometimes contains as many as six separate breaks.
Ground set pieces (known to pyrotechnics as lance work) are limited only by the size of the budget and the imagination of the technician. A pyrotechnic making anything from an American flag to the Greek letters for a fraternity party, follows the same proceedures for each. First, he builds a frame, delineating the outlines of each shape he wishes to create in exploding colors. If he is going to be doing an American flag, for example, he builds a rectangular frame. Then he runs lengths of rattan across the frame, bending each length so that it resembles a waving flag. Double pointed nails are pounded into the rattan at appropriate intervals (usually about 6-inches apart).
After this, long, thin (4-inches long, 3/8 of an inch wide) bundles of chemicals called lances are glued to the nails. Each lance contains both the color(s) appropriate to the picture being ”painted” and a small amount of combustible black powder. An enormous, super-fast-burning fuse (comes in 50 foot lengths) is stapled over the rattan and frame in such a manner that it touches each lance. When the fuse is lit, the lances explode almost simultaneously, forming an illuminated picture. In his 55 years of lighting up the ground and the sky, Genualdi has made such exploding pictures as Davy Crockett at the Alamo, a whole horse race, a dog chase in which the dog pursues a rabbit and a goose, laying a golden egg, which breaks and lets a tiny, new born gosling appear, albeint temporarily, against the dark landscape. Besides this, from time to time, Genualdi, working from a photograph, depicts an identifiable person in fireworks.
A GUIDE TO BIGGEST AND LOUDEST
Come July 4 or thereabouts, everybody`ll be setting off some kind of fireworks. There`s barely a community in the area that isn`t putting on some type of light-up-the-sky display, ranging from mini, inexpensive blowoffs to all-out spectaculars. We asked a number of the fireworks companies in Chicagoland to tell us who was running some of the larger (more than $10,000) displays. Here`s a selective list for your enjoyment. But remember, there are literally hundreds of other fireworks displays scheduled, so if you want to stay closer to home, check your local community`s plans.
— Chicago, Wednesday: During the finale of Tchaikovsky`s 1812 Overture
(close to 10 p.m.), which will be performed by the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra in Grant Park in the Petrillo Music Shell, Chicago will present its annual and spectacular fireworks display ($50,000 worth this year). Fireworks will be fired from Queens Landing (at the foot of Monroe Street and Lake Shore Drive). For more information, call the Mayor`s Office of Special Events hot line, 744-3370.)
— Chicago Heights, Wednesday: Band concert at 7 p.m. preceding $10,000 fireworks display from 9 to 10 p.m., Bloom High School, north athletic field, on Dixie Highway and Joe Orr Road (25 miles from the Loop). Call 756-5315.
— Milwaukee, Wednesday: Although we`re stretching the bounds of
”Chicagoland,” Milwaukee`s fireworks display ($30,000 worth) is big enough to attract a lot of area viewers. The display, from 9:15 to 10 p.m., will be held at a Lake Michigan landfill just north of the Milwaukee Art Museum (750 N. Lincoln Memorial Dr.); north suburbanite TV viewers also may be able to catch the fireworks on Milwaukee`s Channel 4. Call 414-765-4230.
— Evanston, Thursday: A band concert at 7 p.m. precedes a $10,000 fireworks display from about 9:15 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. at Evanston`s lakefront south of Northwestern University between Main and Davis Streets.866-2910, ext. 2367.
— Wheaton, Wednesday: $10,000 fireworks show, from about 9 p.m. to 9:45 p.m., Du Page County Fairgrounds, 2015 W. Manchester Rd. Call 668-6636.
— Blue Island, Thursday: About $15,000 worth of fireworks will go off from 9 to 10 p.m. at Dwight D. Eisenhower High School, 12700 S. Sacramento Ave. Call 388-1300.
— Great America, Thursday: Concentrated 25-minute pyro-musical fireworks show (more than $10,000) from 9 to 9:25 p.m.; Int. Hwy. 94 and Grand Avenue, Gurnee. Call 249-1776.
— Naperville, Thursday: $10,000 fireworks show will be synchronized with recorded music that will be broadcast on WKKD-FM (96). Show will run from 9:30 to 10 p.m. in Knoch Park, West Street and Martin Avenue. Call 357-9000.
— Palatine, Thursday: Electronically fired $12,000 fireworks show from 9:30 to 10 p.m. Fireworks will explode in time to patriotic music, all of which will be broadcast over local radio station WSEX (92.7 FM). Community Park, U.S. Hwy. 14 and Palatine Road. Call 358-7500.
— Rolling Meadows, July 6: This post-Independence Day $10,000 fireworks display also commemorates Rolling Meadows` 30th anniversary of incorporation as a city; from about 9:15 to 10 p.m. at Kimball Hill Park, behind the Rolling Meadows Shopping Center at the intersection of Kirchoff Road and Meadow Drive. Call 394-8500.
