Hundreds of families beat the heat and attended the Fourth of July parade and festivities at Mackenzie park on Monday. While some may have been first-timers, others have made quite a tradition of the Fourth on Broadway festivities.
“Come early, and be prepared to sweat,” said Judy Sumpter who was well-prepared for the day’s triple-digit heat. She and her family set up a tent right by the river bank to enjoy a day of food, live music, relaxing and even some catch-and-release fishing. For Sumpter’s family, it has become tradition to get up at 4 a.m.. on the fourth and drive to Lubbock from their home in Ralls to get to the parade early and then celebrate the rest of the day in Lubbock.
“I just like sitting and listening to all the people and listening to all the music and all the bands and seeing all the people walk around,” said Sumpter. “We come over here and it’s just a big happy family, it’s nice to see this.”
Across the park, the Campos family has a tradition of their own, one that keeps growing and growing.
“Just out here enjoying our freedom, our Fourth of July. We’ve been doing this for quite awhile since our kids were little, and now we’re bringing our grandkids out here,” said Antonio Campos of Lubbock.
Although surrounded by his family and grandchildren, there was one member of the family still missing from the day’s festivities.
“We miss him, we miss him,” said a tearful Campos. His son, Gary, is currently stationed in North Carolina with the United States Air Force. Campos says that while he wishes his son could be there to celebrate the family tradition, he’s proud to celebrate his service as well, and hopes that others remember to do the same.
“We know what he’s doing out there we just got to be grateful for that you know,” Campos said. “We should give thanks to the young men and women in the military. Hopefully, next year and the following years, the Lord will bless us with some more Fourth of July’s and we’ll be here.”
