I'm old enough to remember The Bicentennial. That summer, I was five years old.
I remember going downtown in Lafayette, IN, for the big parade. My sister and I were wearing matching red, white, and blue outfits that Mom made for us (in those days, Mom made all of our clothes...she is a superb seamstress).
I don't have any videos of that day or that parade or that summer of 1976, but these two videos come very close to what my memories look like. Enjoy.
I remember going downtown in Lafayette, IN, for the big parade. My sister and I were wearing matching red, white, and blue outfits that Mom made for us (in those days, Mom made all of our clothes...she is a superb seamstress).
I don't have any videos of that day or that parade or that summer of 1976, but these two videos come very close to what my memories look like. Enjoy.
My favorite bicentennial memory (other than bicentennial quarters, which I hoarded obsessively until my house was robbed in 1982): I was waitressing at a very exclusive resort and our head waiter was a complete a**hole. He was giving us the run-down of the evening's events (when & what we were to serve, when we were to absent ourselves so the guests wouldn't have to look at the help trying to clean up and finish their shifts while guests were watching the spectacular fireworks, etc.) and he ended his speech with "Let's go out there and celebrate 200 years!" A black waiter asked, "200 years of what?" In his most condescending manner, the head waiter said, "200 years of freedom." "Well, for some people," the black waiter responded in a deadpan way.
ReplyDeleteI still get a smile when I think about that.
Seriously, I'm 10 years older than you? *sigh*
ReplyDeleteI remember thinking at 15 whole years old "what's the big deal". I know now.
My biggest memory of the day was Walter Cronkite's excitement over the big ships.
That is one of the best stories I have ever heard, Triple D. That is AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, today I feel older than both of us combined, so take heart. I was little enough when the Bicentennial happened that I thought it was a big deal because all of the adults in my life said it was. I have glimpses and flashes of memory about it. Mostly I remember my pretty outfit that Mom made (we were kinda poor, so Mom's ability to sew meant that we girls were always well turned-out for mere pennies) and sitting on a curb downtown with my sister, waving my own little kid-sized Old Glory. That's why I thought these YT clips were so great. Kinda fills in the gaps for me, and I guarantee that these parades were very much like what we had in Lafayette, IN, my beloved hometown, on that special day.
ReplyDeleteI was 16 when the bicentennial happened, and no matter how tacky you remember it being, it's not tacky enough. I only hope I can get the image of that local Chevy commercial with the Miss Alabama runner-up and her ventriloquism dummy out of my head before I go to sleep.
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