Andrew Sawyer, in the guise of Uncle Sam, greeted people to the Lynnport Fire Company Jamboree, the Fourth of July celebration held the weekend before the holiday.

People were making a fashion statement as they came dressed in red, white and blue.

Kristin Balliet wanted a pink hydrangea at the Chinese auction so badly that she was just kept pulling her tickets and dropping them in. There were a lot of plants in the auction but none quite so striking as the hydrangea.

There were many prizes suitable for children such as the small John Deere toy lawn mower.

Other games had visitors in spurts. One woman saw a bear she wanted at the golf game and won it.

Funnel cakes were on the menu for the first time. Food was sold outside though most of it was prepared in the firehouse kitchen.

Kempton-Kutztown Girl Scouts were manning several games as they raise money for a trip to London as Senior Ambassadors. Other fundraisers had been serving breakfast at Virginville and a basket raffle at Kutztown.

They have $6,000 and need $36,000. Fourteen girls are planning on going in July 2017.

Scout Leader Kay Greenawalt said at one event a man gave her a rolled up dollar bill and told her not to unroll it until after the event.

The bill was for $500.

“We call him our angel,” she said.

Scott Marshall of Scott Marshall and the Hillbilly Souls asked all military persons for a show of hands.

He had a friend who regularly wrote letters home while deployed and he made it into a song. The name of his song is “Letters and Prayers.”

Marshall, who was raised in a Christian household, believes in the power of prayer so he was of a like mind.

He said it is up to him to write songs that will bless the listening audiences the group is so fortunate to have.

Some of the words are “From time to time he comes home and his family is always there. Friends stop by to show support and tell him they care. His baby girl knows how to make him laugh all night long. He wipes the tears from her mommie’s eyes and sings his victory song.”

The Large Flowerheads took the stage after the Hillbilly Souls to play music from the 1960s. They had lights that switched between red, white and blue and caused an interesting shift of colors on the patriotic-themed backdrop for the stage.

Children were asked to come front and choose the winners in the raffle which had a $2,500 first prize.

The evening ended with a fabulous fireworks display on the hill behind the fire station.

See additional photos on Page A2.