Sweaty crowds stood shoulder to shoulder under the midday sun Monday as Signal Mountain’s Althaus Park pavilion filled with the hum of conversation and bluegrass music.
Smoke wafted from charcoal grills lined with sizzling hamburger patties and hot dogs. Mothers spread blankets across the park grass and crouched down to rub dirt of their children’s chubby cheeks and ask what they wanted to eat.
Little boys chased one another through the small spaces in a line of hundreds of people eager to pile a plate high with some of the 1,800 pounds of pork slow-cooked over oak and hickory embers since noon the day before.
“(This local cookout) is a little slice of Americana that still exists,” said Steve Hankins, a Signal Mountain resident and Lions Club member who helped organize this year’s Lions Club community barbecue, a July Fourth tradition on the mountain that’s survived for 52 years.
The Lions Club’s barbecue, one of the club’s three major fundraisers during the year, has become a big event on Signal Mountain over the years. On Sunday, all 80 Lions Club members began rotating through four-hour shifts that went through the night, tending the pork cooking on the large grill in Althaus Park.
Slideshow: Signal Mountain Celebration
Every hour, the butts are turned, and the work always pays off on the big day of the event. Most years the meat, sold by the plate or by the pound, sells out by 2:30 p.m. This year – with an attendance of about 3,000 – was no different.
“When we were setting up we saw tables that were more than 50 years old. There is no telling how many pounds of barbecue they’ve served,” said Mark Thomas, an assistant football coach at Signal Mountain Middle-High School and a volunteer for the event.
With election season in full swing, dozens of candidates for local and state races attended the event for face time with voters, peddling buttons, stickers and yard signs.
“It’s the place to be seen on the Fourth of July,” said Rob Philyaw, president of the Signal Mountain Sports Boosters. “People were lined up the hill. And the barbecue is always good.”
Overall, the Lions Club made $5,000 profit off the event, which lasted from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., to be handed over to local and national charities for the blind. Throughout the day, more than 22 kids were given eye screenings that will be analyzed for problems, said Bill Leonard, the event chairman.
“It’s a pretty fun day, all the kids playing, running and screaming, listening to home spun music,” Mr. Leonard said.