And the whole country rejoiced!

The Vietnam War was over. Gerald Ford was in the White House.

Gas cost 59 cents per gallon in 1976. We had landed on the moon, and we were starting to clean up the environment after the Clean Air Act.

Escanaba was booming with a population of over thirteen thousand people. Harnischfeger and Clairmont Transfer employed our fathers and grandfathers. Pelletized ore was shipped out of port Escanaba.

A bicentennial minute popped up on TV between All in the Family and The Waltons and other programs with a fun history flashback.

This year 2026, the United Stated of America celebrated its 250th anniversary.

It is quite a historical occasion!

I so vividly recall the bicentennial with all of its pageantry, school programs and parades.

I was seventeen on July 4th. 1976. I wore a red and white Bandana-style top with denim blue shorts. About fifty folks, family and friends gathered in my parent’s backyard.

Our family had a bicentennial hat contest. Homemade hats with stars and stripes were popular. Some folks embellished their favorite baseball cap or straw hats with tokens from U.S. history. My uncle Jim’s “victory garden” hat complete with potatoes and cabbage, won first prize.

My collage aged brother (also a Jim) painted his beard red, white and blue!

Dozens of chickens were roasted on the spit that day and Papst Blue Ribbon was the beer of choice for the adults.

Almost everyone had some kind of souvenir from the bicentennial. Many stores, businesses and organizations had some kind of patriot give away.

My mother collected the bicentennial drinking glasses at the A&P store. These golden colored beauties featuring the Liberty Bell and the Decoration of Independence still sit on the shelf at the family home.

So, now we are ready to observe America’s 250th birthday. How has our country changed in 50 years?

How have our families grown and our community? How different our hair looks fifty years later!

Today Americans have so many wonderful tools of communication like cell phones and computers and yet Americans seem more fragmented than ever.

This weekend we all need to join together in patriotism. This is an event to tell our future grandchildren about.

One thing we can all agree upon is that the United States of America is the land that we love! Have a safe and happy fourth!