There’s only one firework stand in Petersburg, and it can be tricky to find. First you drive ten miles out of town, then turn down a dirt road, and after dodging some potholes you’ll find the Curtiss Fireworks stand alongside a milling site.
The modest wooden shed is packed with many different kinds of fireworks. “Victory Swords,” “Neon Cowboys,” and “Star Spangled Cannons” line the shelves.
The stand was opened in 1987 by George Curtiss, when buying fireworks for the family turned into buying fireworks for others. Kerri Curtiss is his granddaughter; she said the stand has been a part of her life since childhood.
She said she has a lot of fond memories of fireworks at her grandfather’s lodge on neighboring Kupreanof Island.
“He would sit up in the loft of the lodge and divvy out one thing at a time to us down on the beach, and we would light fireworks for hours and hours,” said Curtiss. “It would last probably three or four hours, and then the adults got to do the big stuff.”
After helping with the stand for decades, Curtiss took over the family business around nine years ago. She’s a teacher, so running the stand is her summer side job.
Her grandfather passed away last year. Curtiss said it was emotional telling customers the news.
She said it’s important to keep the stand going in his memory, and that he would be proud.
“Fireworks were something for him to share other people’s joy. And so I try to keep that legacy going,” she said. “His motto was always, ‘take their money, and then make them happy.’”
She said that making people happy is by far the best part of the job.
“People can’t wait to light stuff off, so they’ll want to do it close to the stand so I can watch,” she said. “I think the joy that fireworks brings makes it all worth it.”
She said that this year has been slower than others, maybe because of the unseasonably rainy weather. She also suspects that sometimes people don’t know the stand exists because it’s located miles from downtown.
Even then, Curtiss said it’s unique being one of only a few fireworks stands in Southeast Alaska. She said she’ll spread the holiday spirit selling fireworks for as long as she can.
