LENOIR CITY, Tenn. (WVLT)-- The Sharps restocked and unpacked for their 70th year of business in Lenoir City. Selling a summer tradition has been their family tradition for several years.

"People like being able to shoot fireworks in their backyard," Bill Sharp, one of the owners of Dixie Lee Fireworks, said. "There's something that goes along with cookouts."

In the 1940's their company was a drive-thru fireworks stand selling just a couple dozen fire crackers. Now it's a full-scale store-front with hundreds of fireworks to light up the summer holidays.

Bill Sharp is the third generation to take over the business. The East Tennessee native is a second grade teacher by winter and fireworks enthusiast by summer.

"There are people who come in to this store that I remember as a kid playing at their knees with toys as they came in and talk to my mom and dad," Sharp told WVLT's Robert Grant.

It's been a passion passed down through generations. Their 9 year-old son, Jackson, could be next to take over.

"I can't believe he's that old, but he's a fourth generation," sharp said.

Dixie Lee can be found just past the Knox County line in Lenoir City, off Kingston Pike. The business opens for their first day of the summer season on Saturday, March 26. They will stay open through mid-July.