>> the rocket’s red glare...

34 | Summer 2014

Butterfl ies fl utter inside John Casse’s stomach

as he prepares for the show at Flavet Field.

Much like an athlete shakes off nerves before a

game, he reminds himself that he’s ready.

He arrives around 5 p.m. to set up and check that

all the electrical wiring is properly connected. After

more than four hours of waiting, checking, eating

and more waiting, he’s about to light up the night

at the University of Florida’s Fanfares & Fireworks

Independence Day Eve event.

As the patriotic music plays and the fi reworks erupt,

bystanders turn their eyes up, surprised and mesmer-

ized by the white-hot stars exploding into the sky, the

air crackling and sizzling like static electricity.

Flashes of red, blue, orange and white burst into the

air, then alternate with twinkling starburst patterns

that leave yellow trails behind as they fade.

About 15 minutes later, the rumbling fades as smoke

forms clouds and the crowd begins to disperse.

Casse indulges in a feeling of accomplishment for a

minute or two, giving himself a mental pat on the back

and exchanging handshakes and high-fi ves with his

employees. Then he gets back to work, knowing he still

has about an hour’s worth of cleanup ahead of him and

several more shows to prepare for the next day.

And on July 5, he’ll rest.

Casse has produced fi reworks shows at the University

of Florida for more than 20 years. But aside from the

university’s annual Fourth of July show (which he will

work again this year), the 2012 Gator Growl pep rally

and various sporting events, his Ocala-based company,

Skylighters of Florida, has handled pyrotechnics for the

New York Yankees, high school graduation ceremonies,

charity events, Veterans Day celebrations and more.

The 50-year-old, who grew up watching two genera-

tions of Casse men master the art of pyrotechnics in

the Midwest, oversees 20 to 30 fi reworks displays per

year and has traveled as far as Indiana and New York to

help with shows.

His earliest recollection of fi reworks dates back to

when he was 12 years old, gazing up at the brightly lit

sky in honor of a 1976 bicentennial celebration — the

Fire(work)Pyrotechnician John Casse has Been Lighting Upthe Skies Over UF forMore Than 20 Years

WRITTEN BY STYLIANA RESVANIS

>> THE ROCKET’S RED GLARE

34

www.VisitOurTowns.com Summer 2014 | 35

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36 | Summer 2014

200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence

— in Ocala. He also remembers helping his father set

up displays in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

“Once the show was about ready to start, I would

have to leave because I wasn’t old enough,” Casse said.

“I had to move over to where the spectators were.”

Casse has had several exciting jobs over the years but

said one of the most memorable is the one that got away.

During the 1992 presidential election, the business

received a request to do pyrotechnics for Bill Clinton

and Al Gore in Ocala at an event, which would air on

CNN. Two days before the show, Casse and his crew

were preparing a display, complete with a light-up

sign spelling “Clinton-Gore,” when campaign workers

canceled because of safety concerns.

Casse’s company also produced a fi reworks show at

a birthday celebration for George Steinbrenner — late

owner and managing partner of the Yankees — in

Tampa after Casse’s father fi elded a call from the

mogul’s wife and agreed to work the event. The

PHOTOS BY STYLIANA RESVANIS and ELISE GIORDANO

Each fi reworks shell label includes information on the shell’s size, color

and design. Those shells are then loaded into mortar tubes, or launchers.

36


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38 | Summer 2014

problem? Steinbrenner’s birthday fell on July

Fourth, a holiday synonymous with fi reworks.

Casse couldn’t make it to Tampa himself

because he was working another celebration, but

he scrambled to gather extra manpower and even

called a contact in Atlanta to pitch in. In the end,

his employees pulled off the event without a hitch.

Despite the fact that none of his relatives or

employees has ever been seriously injured, his

wife still worries about him on the job — after

all, where there’s explosive material there’s risk,

and he said it’s especially dangerous around the

Fourth of July because of the increased demand for

pyrotechnics.

“My belief is when you stop fearing [fi reworks],

that’s when you can have a problem; when you

become too comfortable and let your guard down,”

he said.

While some danger remains, the switch to

electronically controlled fi reworks in the last 15

to 20 years has added some safety, Casse said. At

smaller shows, fi reworks might still be lit by hand,

but he said most shows today are fi red wirelessly

or with an electronically pushed button.

“Everything is planned out hopefully to the

second or to the minute as far as what time you’re

going to do what effects,” he said. “It’s broken up

into different scenes: an opening, a main body

and a fi nale to cap everything off. Most of the

shows you see, especially big ones, use software

programs; you turn the key or switch and then the

fi ring panel will shoot the show for you.”

The Casse family’s involvement in pyrotechnics

began with Casse’s grandfather, who sold safety

equipment such as extinguishers, engines and

hoses to an Indiana fi re department in the 1940s.

The fi re department handled fi reworks shows in

those days, and the elder Casse’s interest ignited

after meeting someone involved with the enter-

tainment explosives.

While his uncle and cousins maintain a

fi reworks business in Indianapolis, Casse’s father

decided to continue his career in the South in the

early 1970s. He later passed the torch to his son

who, in 1990, founded Skylighters.

These days, Casse runs his business while his

father helps out from time to time. Even though

he has employees, he said most of them also hold

jobs in a variety of fi elds, such as fi refi ghting and

paramedics, because it’s a seasonal business that

lacks enough work for a large full-time staff.

The most meaningful fi reworks display Casse

has ever done was one for an employee’s funeral

in Keystone Heights on New Year’s Eve almost fi ve

years ago. During the fi ve-minute memorial show,

fellow co-workers yelled the man’s name and

shouted, “This is for you!”

PHOTOS BY ELISE GIORDANO

John Casse’s fi reworks display lights up the sky at Gator

Growl 2012 at UF’s Ben Hill Griffi n Stadium.

38


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40 | Summer 2014

“He loved fi reworks more than even me,” Casse

said. “There were some tears, but also some happy

[thoughts], knowing it was something he would’ve

been smiling over.”

Every show Casse does requires personalization,

which he accomplishes by inquiring what each client

is looking for. For UF, the goal is obvious.

“To me, as much orange and blue you can get, you

should get,” he said.

The university’s shows vary depending on the event.

The Fourth of July display is a main-attraction event

that lasts about 15 to 20 minutes and emphasizes UF’s

colors as well as red, white and blue.

On the other hand, Gator Growl or sporting events

use fi reworks to cap off the night and add a signature

at the end of a celebration, Casse said. These shows

pack as much entertainment as possible into about

three to six minutes.

But no matter how long a show lasts, Casse believes

fi reworks serve their purpose: to entertain and bring

joy to audiences.

“I think people connect with them and view them as

a special occasion, a celebration or something happy,”

he said. “Maybe it’s all the colors and the noise.”

Casse’s children, however, have become immune

to the effects of fi reworks. Although their friends fi nd

them exciting, he said his sons are more interested in

video games and music.

But his oldest child, 20-year-old Camden, does fi nd

himself following in his father’s footsteps by helping

at events. He is too young now, but someday Casse’s

son will be presented with the choice of keeping the

business in the family.

“It’s defi nitely something I’ve kept in mind,” Camden

said. The aspiring sports writer, who recently graduated

from the College of Central Florida with an associate

degree and hopes to transfer to UF, said he would

consider maintaining his father’s company on the side

if he ends up working for a publication in the state.

But for now, Casse is content to fuel the family

fi reworks business and brighten the nights of those

who witness his work.

“Assuming everything went well and everybody’s

safe, there’s no feeling like when it’s over and you hear

the crowd cheering,” he said. “That’s basically what it’s

all about — that you’ve entertained people.” s

“Assuming everything went well and everybody’s safe, there’s no feeling like when it’s over and you hear the crowd cheering.”

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