Fireworks stand raises money for 9/11 memorial in Maple Valley

After terror struck Manhattan and Washington, D.C. on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Clark Davis said he was on the first possible plane out of Seattle to New York to help in whatever way he could

By Rebecca Gourley • July 1, 2015 6:18 pm
Alex Nelson rearranges a display of fireworks at the Black Cat stand in the Four Corners Safeway parking lot.
Alex Nelson rearranges a display of fireworks at the Black Cat stand in the Four Corners Safeway parking lot.

After terror struck Manhattan and Washington, D.C. on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Clark Davis said he was on the first possible plane out of Seattle to New York to help in whatever way he could.

Davis is an insurance agent in Maple Valley who attends Real Life Church. One week out of the year, he also runs a fireworks stand in town.

Each year, he selects a charity or nonprofit group to benefit from the sales at the fireworks stand. This year, he is donating the profits to the 9/11 memorial that will be built at Maple Valley Fire Station 81.

During a recent City Council meeting, a presentation was made to council members about the memorial project and Davis said he was squirming in his chair, eager to jump headfirst into fundraising.

When several council members said they wanted to allocate some funds that night to help the project, Davis said he was trying to motion to them to not do it.

He said he remembered thinking, “Don’t write the check, give (the community) the opportunity (to help).”

For Davis, the sight of communities coming together for a cause is all too familiar.

“I spent three months at ground zero after 9/11, serving first responders meals,” he said in a phone interview.

When he arrived in New York after the attack, he connected with a local church and scouted for a location to set up feeding stations.

“We worked 24 hours a day, in shifts, at different feeding stations,” he said.

He remembered some volunteers had 5-gallon tanks strapped to their backs, serving hot chocolate and coffee to people helping with the clean up effort.

From November 2001 through May 2002, he said he took 300 volunteers to New York to feed the first responders for several weeks each trip.

“My life was completely shaped and formed during that event,” Davis said. “That’s a huge part of my story.”

Davis’s Black Cats fireworks stand is located in the Safeway parking lot at Four Corners. It opened on Sunday, June 28. Their hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday. And on Saturday, July 4, they will be open until they sell out.

Davis said he hopes to raise $4,000-$6,000 for the memorial fund.

There is also a GoFundMe page set up for the memorial, for those that wish to donate without buying fireworks. The GoFundMe was at $2,675 of their $10,000 goal as of press time. It can be found at www.gofundme.com/maplevalley911.