George Terry joked as he and a handful of friends and members of American Legion Post 249 made sure that everything in their fireworks booth was just right.

After all, things had to look good on the first day that the public could buy the “safe-and-sane” varieties that seem to be available on every corner.

With plans to donate all of the proceeds generated from the booth – located at the corner of Union Road and Wawona Street in the parking lot of Sequoia Heights Baptist Church – to local Veterans Adminsitration Hospitals and a scholarship fund that the organization has, Terry said he’s hoping the public will come out and show their support and help the group move towards their goal of doing as well if not better than they did last year.

“The first year that we did this we did very well,” Terry said. “But in the last three years we’ve seen that go down – maybe because of the economy or the number of booths that are here in town. But we’re still able to raise money for what we’re going to support.”

After the Manteca City Council decided to allow the sale of “safe-and-sane” fireworks – those that don’t fly into the air and those that don’t explode – local non-profit groups began signing up en masse for the annual permit lottery to get a slice of the revenue generated by what amounts to a weeklong fundraiser.

And the money is good.

Ben Cantu of the Tidewater Southern Railway Historical Society – which is operating a booth again this year near where Union Road intersects with Louise Avenue – said that the group cleared nearly $60,000 the first time out.

They haven’t been able to come close to that since, but have still been able to add to the fund that they hope will lead to the opening of a museum that will immortalize the railway that ran from Stockton over into Escalon and down into Turlock.

Prices will range from just over a dollar for the small items to $500 for the massive package that is commonly purchased by people in neighborhoods that pool their money and host a group show.

According to those who purchased the big package in the past, Cantu said, the entire show can last upwards of five or six hours.

They didn’t put out the full display on Thursday afternoon – sales, he said, don’t really start picking up until the few days before Fourth of July – but the change in the weather over last year is more than welcome.

“We had rain down here and it was leaking and then it ended up getting up to 105 before it was all over,” said Cantu – who spent the day working with group treasurer Del Hoffmann. “I hate the heat and I hate the dirt. But I love working with the people and interacting with the public. It’s always a lot of fun to see people coming down with their families.”

Fireworks sales are underway now through July 4 in Manteca, Lathrop, and Ripon.