St. George Man Puts On Last Fireworks Show After 43 Years

ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Fourth of July in 2019 marks the end of an era for a popular Southern Utah fireworks show, as the organizer prepares to pass the torch after 43 years.

It probably doesn’t seem worth it to set up 4,000 fireworks shells for a show only 20 minutes long, but Murray Gubler couldn’t say no this year.

“Every reaction you get is well worth it,” he said.

For more than four decades, Murray has been the main guy behind a St. George July 4^th fireworks show.

“Well, I played with dynamite as a kid,” he joked.

The show has become a family tradition.

Of all the years he’s been doing it, this year is different. This year is his last.

“Yeah,” he said. “This is it.”

As anyone who has seen a fireworks show knows, a blast can only last so long.

“To be honest, I’m kind of sad,” he told KSL.

The @Cityofstgeorge July 4th fireworks show is almost about to begin. When it ends, it’ll also be the end of an era. We’ll explain on @KSL5TV at 10. #KSLTV #July4th2019 #Fireworks pic.twitter.com/pTDteoByOk

— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) July 5, 2019

His wife, Jane, has been by his side for every single one of these shows.

“(I’m) very proud, very proud of him all these years,” she said.

Jane doesn’t know what they’ll do next year, unless they go watch another fireworks show. Even then, it won’t be the same.

“He critiques them,” she joked. “He’ll say, “Well, those shots aren’t as good as some of those that I have shot,’ or, ‘They don’t know how to shoot them or shoot them at the right time.’”

It’s tough being a perfectionist.

“If I can’t shoot $1000 a minute, it’s not a show,” Murray said.

That would explain why his St. George shows are $2000 a minute.

“It’s basically a finale barrage the full 20 minutes,” he said.

The St. George show isn’t the only show Murray has done. He’s also done fireworks at the Hoover Dam, in San Diego during the Super Bowl, and even in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics.

“Even though I’ve done a lot of shows around, most people don’t know I do this,” he said.

For all the shows he has done, there was just something special about St. George.

“We love it, because the people love it. There’s probably 25-30,000 people all over the community watching,” he said.

He’ll miss the sound of being close to exploding fireworks, but he’ll really miss the sound of the crowd after his shows.

“You can hear them cheer at the end, and it’s just great. We love it,” Murray said.

That’s what he said truly makes the hours of set-up really worth it.

“It makes you want to do it again,” he said.

The St. George show will still happen next year. It will just be with someone new.