For many families, the Fourth of July means barbecues, cannonballs and watching fireworks from lawn chairs.
JOHN R. McCUTCHEN / Union-Tribune
Andy Szymanski and his family have helped keep Coronado's Fourth of July festivities going year after year.
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The Szymanski family's tradition means eating on the run, mopping their brows and not sitting down until the last fireworks ember fades to black.
For 48 years, the Szymanskis have helped put on Coronado's Fourth of July festivities, a civic celebration that dates to the late 1800s. In addition to a parade with 30 floats, marching bands, classic cars and plenty of red, white and blue, today's activities include a rough-water swim, a 5K and 15K run, concert in Spreckels Park and fireworks on Glorietta Bay.
By sunup today, the family – father Andy, son David and daughters Laura and Michelle – will be walking the mile-long parade route, wiping dew off the grandstands and making final preparations for the more than 80,000 spectators expected to jam Orange Avenue from First Street to the Hotel del Coronado.
“I can't imagine spending the Fourth not involved with the parade,” said Laura Szymanski, 36. “It's who we are. It's a legacy. It's a honor when people say, 'Oh, I know your dad. He's Mr. Fourth of July.' ”
Mr. Fourth of July is Andy Szymanski, 68, president of the volunteer-run Citizens' Committee for the Coronado Fourth of July Celebration Inc. for a quarter of a century. Even his license plate reads “MR4JULY.”
“It may sound silly, but it gives me a feeling of achievement to put on something of this magnitude,” said Andy, who recently celebrated his 40th wedding anniversary with his wife, Pearl. “And I like the reasoning behind it – to celebrate our independence.”
His three grown children started helping their father with the parade as youngsters. Today, David, 39, an El Cajon resident and technology arts teacher at Emerald Middle School in El Cajon, is parade chairman. Laura, a personal assistant who lives with her parents, is treasurer.
Daughter Michelle Fernandez, 32, gave up her position overseeing concessions after she had her first child two years ago, but her father wouldn't let her quit entirely. Michelle, who lives in Lemon Grove, is now secretary.
“Sometimes I wonder, 'When will there be a day I don't have to do it?' ” said Michelle, a special-education teacher in San Diego Unified School District. “But if there ever was a day I didn't have to do it, I think I'd be really sad.”
In a close-knit enclave filled with military retirees where residents can hear taps coming from North Island Naval Air Station at nightfall, celebrating Independence Day is a major civic event. Every year, residents donate more than $50,000 to pay for the event, although donations have slowed this year.
“For people that live in Coronado, you just don't leave the island on the Fourth,” said Joe Ditler, editor of Coronado magazine and former executive director of the Coronado Historical Association. “That's just gospel.”
Residents stake out their spot along the parade route before dawn. By the 10 a.m. start time, spectators are lined up four lawn chairs deep, cheering from balconies draped in the Stars and Stripes, perched on rooftops of the quaint cottages and crowded onto the tidy lawn of the median strip.
The Szymanskis will be working both ends of the parade, lining up marching bands, keeping skittish horses away from the snare drums and directing traffic at the end.
Their Fourth of July dynasty began in 1960, when Andy volunteered for the parade as a member of the Active 20-30 Club, a service organization.
Years later, he became parade chairman and then president. Having worked as an internal review officer doing financial audits at North Island for 40 years, Szymanski likes things orderly. He moved quickly to put his stamp on the parade.
“We put down all the jobs that needed to be done, military style. We said, 'Now everybody has their job to do. Now go do it,' ” he said.
His management style can make some bristle. But committee members said the legwork he does year-round is crucial to keeping the parade going year after year.
“Andy is the spirit of it,” said Fred Brown, a volunteer and Coronado resident. “He gets everybody together and encourages them on.”
Much has changed since Coronado held its first Independence Day parades in the 1890s, when the short-lived Coronado natural history museum would display dinosaur bones and taxonomy displays on horse-drawn wagons.
In the 1960s, parade organizers would pass a can to collect money to pay for that night's fireworks. This year, the show will cost $29,000 – $14,000 more than Szymanski paid for his first Coronado house in 1960.
Also during that decade, the San Diego Zoo stopped sending live animals after a spooked elephant knocked over a fence.
By the 1980s, the committee had prohibited alcohol among participants. “They started celebrating early and by the time they got ready to move in the parade, they couldn't find the parade,” Andy said.
Yet many traditions linger – politicians waving from classic cars, bagpipers, military bands, equestrian groups, the Shriners and clowns.
Among the most enduring, and most meaningful, moments come when the Pearl Harbor survivors come by. Veterans always get a standing ovation.
“The military is so important to Coronado,” Michelle said. “For a lot of people, this is their chance to show the military their appreciation. When everyone is clapping for them, it just gives you chills.”
As children, the three Szymanski siblings have fond memories of marching in the parade, carrying banners announcing winning floats and gathering in the evening to watch fireworks. As adults, their father asked them to step in and fill vacancies on the planning committee.
“Once my Dad has a thought of who he wants to select, he basically hounds them until they agree to do it,” Laura said.
Not that they mind. Andy Szymanski helped start a youth soccer league in Coronado and volunteered with his son's Boy Scout troop. “At a certain point, you get too old to do those things together,” David said. “This is something that will never end. That's a nice feeling.”
