My very favorite was a little shop in Northern Missouri. It was on a “back” road, but since Iowa is a fireworks nanny State they still did plenty of business.
Anyway, this is a family run joint...the owners house is less than 20-30 yards from this large building full of fireworks. The one day that I stopped in there, it appeared no one was there...suddenly someone appeared at the Counter...he had been taking a nap on the floor. In the middle of the store was a table, with a huge ashtray; overflowing with hundreds of butts. Not something often seen in a fireworks shop.
The guy was helping me pick out some good fireworks, and described one as “super-loud...we set them off outside the kids’ windows once in the while if they don’t get up for school.”
Kid you not...loved those people...LOL!
I’ve heard about this little shop in northern missouri. Do you remember the town it was located?