Hal,
Spot-on!!! For years, firework displays, parades and even park were usually the result of volunteer organizations working hard, getting members and taking responsibility for community needs. Sanford (and other communities) held firework displays for years, but folks stopped giving when they knew other towns like Roxboro were paying for theirs. Domestic shelters, local theaters, historical groups, museums and yes, even parades are all becoming extensions of tax money rather than the outpouring of a community’s desire to contribute through volunteer effort. One has to wonder what this generation’s children will see as “volunteerism” in the coming decades.