Residents, students find ways to celebrate Independence Day

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Classes were not in session, there was no firework show and the streets were empty.

But despite the ghost town-like appearance, the students and residents who remained in East Lansing to celebrate Independence Day found ways to make the holiday as festive as possible.

A quiet weekend
Lansing resident Eric Couthen went for a run at the East Lansing High School track Monday to enjoy the weather.

Couthen said his Fourth of July was relaxing as he spent the weekend at a cookout with his family, and he said he might visit his grandfather later in the day.

“It’s Independence Day,” he said. “It’s usually one of the best days of the summer for me. This year’s a little boring, but it’s always fun. It’s a good day.”

Mike Krukowski attended a Lansing Lugnuts baseball game Sunday to celebrate the Fourth of July but said he was relaxing the rest of the weekend.

Krukowski, who lives in Lansing, said he observes Independence Day foremost to remember the freedoms Americans have that other countries might not.

“We get to voice our opinions still, without having to look over our shoulder for fear of some kind of retribution,” he said. “That’s what the Fourth (of July) means to me. So many people have sacrificed their lives so that we can do whatever we want.”

Taking care of business
Although most businesses closed their doors for Independence Day, a few East Lansing shops made the decision to keep theirs open.

Cold Stone Creamery, 200 M.A.C. Ave., opened for business at noon on Monday but closed at 8 p.m. — two hours earlier than usual.

Cold Stone crew leader Angela Wright said the franchise ice cream shop made the decision to stay open because of the frozen treat’s ties to the summer holiday.

“Generally, when you think Fourth of July, you think hot dogs and ice cream,” she said. “This is a big weekend for all ice cream stores, so we generally like to stay open.”

One of the reasons for Cold Stone’s early closure was because business tends to slow down once local firework shows start, but Wright said there was another reason for the shortened day.

“We like to give our employees a chance to see the fireworks,” she said.

Feeling festive
After a busy Independence Day weekend, recent graduate Carolyn Hart and urban and regional planning senior Chris Hughes spent Monday relaxing at their East Lansing home.

Hart and Hughes spent their weekend tubing and watching fireworks at a friend’s house on Big Whitefish Lake in Pierson, Mich., like they have done for several years.

Work on Tuesday morning forced the pair to return to East Lansing a day early. If not for work, Hart said she still would be at the lake.

Even though their weekend was cut short, they still were able to enjoy it.

“We had a good weekend,” Hughes said. “We packed everything that you would have in a Fourth of July weekend (into) Saturday and Sunday.”

Fifth-year packaging student Brad Forche’s weekend also was cut short because of work.

Normally, Forche goes up north and spends time with his family, but this year, he spent the weekend working but was able to relax Monday, he said.

Other than enjoying the nice weather, Forche and his friend, Lansing Community College student Jason Medina, said their favorite part of the holiday was the festively designed Budweiser beer cans.

“We literally bought Budweiser because it had the American flag on it,” Medina said. “We’re trying to be a little bit patriotic this year.”

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