Last Thursday, July 4, almost 90 runners came to participate in the 20th Celebrate Freedom 5K and One Mile Fun Run/Walk in Jay at Bray-Hendricks Park. The annual event was cancelled, then fortunately made a comeback.

In 1980, the ‘running boom’ had spread across the U.S. and the Town of Jay decided to host a community road race on the 4th of July. They called it the ‘Jay Oil Run,’ since oil had been discovered within the city limits and neighboring communities just 10 years earlier. Former City Recreation Director, David Bush, contacted longtime resident and runner, Roger Dobson,...