Barbecue draws hundreds for the holiday

GAINESVILLE - Another sure sign of the Fourth of July in Gainesville is the annual Memorial Park Salute to Public Safety Officers which had hundreds lining up for free barbecue Tuesday.<br> <br> People of all ages, from the very young to the very old, stood in line in the blazing midday sun for a plate of barbecue as a band played in the background and polticians worked the crowds.<br> <br> If you did not know it was an election year, you would have just as soon as you turned off Brown&#39;s Bridge Road onto Memorial Park Road. Political yard signs lined both sides of the road leading to the barbecue.<br> <br> Each politician who showed up was given a chance to address the crowd and several of them, sensing how hot it would be, came armed with bottled water and small church-type fans which they distributed to the throng.<br> <br> Though it&#39;s billed as a salute to public safety officers, the event now in its 13th year, is open to the public as well - and has become a Gainesville July 4th tradition.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/7/107782