Sparks still fly in a recession

For America's most prominent fireworks purveyors and artists, it's been a family affair from the start. George Zambelli Jr. -- who doubles as an ophthalmologist -- marks the third generation of Zambelli's at the helm of the family's company. Dr. Zambelli's 83-year-old Uncle Lou still arrives for work at the Zambelli's New Castle, Penn. plant at 5 a.m. each morning.

At Fireworks by Grucci, the fourth and fifth generations lead the charge. "It's pretty much like any other family operation," says Philip Butler, a Grucci vice president who calls himself the company's "Chief Operating Brother-in-Law."

"You get into [the business], whether you like it or not," he says. "But I loved it."

Sousa -- who's fourth-generation in the fireworks business -- also always found his family's mom-and-pop operation exciting, but the nation's bicentennial won him over for good. "It wasn't until I graduated college that I realized that I wanted to stay in the business," he says. "After '76, things just boomed from there."

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