Indianapolis fireworks store prepares for July 4

INDIANAPOLIS – As Independence Day draws near, citizens across Indiana are preparing for the time-honored tradition of blowing up explosive material.\nDuring the weeks prior to July 4, red and white tents pop up in many shopping centers and brilliantly colored billboards litter the Indiana highways.\nThe state is also home to Shelton Fireworks, which claims to be one of the largest fireworks warehouses in the world. The business includes 12 retail stores that can be found in four states with six locations in Indiana.\nPaul Shelton helps manage the store’s Web site and blog from the Fremont, Ind., branch. His son Greg started the business 33 years ago in Eaglesville, Mo.\nThe store sells consumer fireworks ranging from sparklers to grand finales. Their most popular products are mortar kits ranging from six to 120 shells, Shelton said during a phone interview.\n“Really, if you’re going do a good show, twenty minutes is long enough; (otherwise) you lose the tension.”\nHowever, the biggest seller at the Richmond, Ind., store is the simple and cheap bottle rocket, head cashier Jennifer Fischer said in a phone interview.\nTNT Fireworks operates about 30 tents throughout Indiana, including a stand in Southport, Ind. Chris Moore has owned and operated the tent for six years and also says bottle rockets are the most popular item in stock.\nMoore offers a variety of “manager’s specials,” as well as his favorite, the small and low-priced Mini Artillery Shells.\n“It’s a decent explosion and has a variety of colors and shots,” Moore said during an interview.\nThe largest explosives that TNT Fireworks sells are made from 500 grams of gunpowder. Examples of such fireworks include those named Star Struck and America’s Best, Moore said. \nHe also plays a DVD for three hours in the evening that demonstrates how the fireworks work.\n“That always helps them to know what they’re really buying.”