CHESTERFIELD, Mich. – A neighborhood in Chesterfield Township revolted against a letter threatening retaliation if residents used fireworks this Fourth of July.
Hundreds gathered Wednesday for a block party and a fireworks show. The organizers of the party spent $1,300 on fireworks for the celebration.
READ: Neighbor writes anti-fireworks letter to Macomb County residents; 'I'll make your life miserable'
They decided to take a negative thing and make it positive by bringing the community together to enjoy the holiday and get to know each other.
"It's a celebration of our country, of being free. For someone to retaliate against that was kind of a slap in the face a little bit," Jeffrey Ricci said. "It's a community experience, get to know your neighbors and make a good thing out of a bad thing."
The letter from a neighbor in the Eagles Nest subdivision near 23 Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue said they work a 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift. The fireworks were so loud last year they could barely sleep, they wrote.
Because of the threatening nature of the letter, police increased Fourth of July patrols as neighbors celebrated the holiday.
" ... if this happens again this year, I don't care who had the party or lights the fireworks this year, I will make yours, and your neighbors' lives miserable for days and months to come. I will take my frustrations out on the whole Dove Lane block, and I'll keep the retaliations lasting forever," reads the letter.
The residents used the community event to raise money for St. Jude's.