It’s surprising that there haven’t been mini-traffic jams on State Hwy. 33 as cars entering and exiting Hillsboro slow down to view the striking new look of Firemen’s Park.

The addition of grandstands that seat 3,200 extra spectators will raise local events into a much higher category of small town entertainment venues.

Are we sure that Bruce Springsteen isn’t making a surprise appearance during the Labor Day Celebration?

Actually, it’s a far more entertaining, and exciting, program that will eventually fill all those new seats…the annual Hillsboro Charity Tractor Pull. That highly popular event draws fans from all over this part of the state, as many as 10,000 of them.

Charity Tractor Pull Coordinator Don Slama and his army of volunteers have been working harder than ever to once again pull the highly popular event together.

Be sure to reserve time to join them on Friday night, Aug. 8 and Saturday night, Aug. 9 at 6 p.m. in Firemen’s Park. To learn much more about the 2014 Hillsboro Charity Tractor Pull, check out its website and Facebook page.

In addition to all the helpers, the Charity Tractor Pull is very appreciative of the generous donations from companies, organizations, and individual contributors who supply the financing needed for the event.

“Thanks to your generosity, both locally and nation wide, we have been able to lend support to our friends and neighbors experiencing economic hardship.”

The Tractor Pull motto sums up the spirit of the entire campaign: “We pull our weight to provide for others in need!”   

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I received some information that was a little late for Independence Day but still deserves to be repeated. Most of the signers of the Declaration of Independence really got the short end of the stick. We all owe them big time, and never even knew them!

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they were killed.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, and another one had two sons captured.

Nine of the signers fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The British jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she lay dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. For more than a year he lived hiding in forests and caves. When he finally was able to return home, he found that his wife had died and his children had vanished.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr. noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home as his headquarters. He quietly urged Gen. George Washington to open fire on it. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Freedom is never free. God bless those brave patriots…and the ones who keep us free today.