Where Were You in 1976?

Music and history

My mom loved the armed services bands. During the bicentennial, the Marine Band and the combined armed services band were playing around the West. We saw them at Utah State University, close to where I grew up, earlier in the year, and my mom got hooked. We spent the rest of the spring and summer following the band around Utah, Montana and Idaho. As we traveled, she read historical books. The whole summer was about American history, and I went on to become an American studies major just because of that. I look back on that summer with such fondness. It raised a heightened sense of patriotism and love for the country, but also a love of what we can be together as a nation. — Tim Summers, 61, Helena, Montana

Real dedication

My dad took us to Brownsville, Texas, to see the dedication of a plaque to commemorate the bicentennial. There were also parades, picnics and festivities surrounding July 1976. It meant a lot to my folks to bring us there because we were all first-generation U.S. citizens. My parents became naturalized citizens in 1985. — Juanita Jiménez-Soto, 59, Houston

Down for the counties

I was 16 years old and living in Mount Vernon, Ohio, during the bicentennial. People came together and celebrated what they had in common, as opposed to focusing on what they disagreed with. People painted fire hydrants and turned it into Betsy Ross, General Washington or Benjamin Franklin. Other people repaired important historic buildings in their communities. There was a resurgence of people joining historical societies and genealogical societies. People took the occasion of 1976 to inquire into their own roots. It was an exciting time where people found their own ways to engage. The spirit of the bicentennial later inspired me when I served as executive director of the Ohio Bicentennial Commission. — Stephen George, 66, Columbus, Ohio

Bicentennial babies

I was a college sophomore at Hampton Institute [now Hampton University] and became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Women brought into the organization at the same time were called line sisters, and it’s a special bond because we experienced learning about community service and the history of this organization together. We got to name ourselves the Bicentennial Babies, a group of 34 women from across the nation. We could have chosen any other name, but it spoke to the importance of 1976. We had our reunion in April to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Bicentennial Babies. — Sylvia Cyrus, 70, Upper Marlboro, Maryland

Collecting materials from every state

Bicentennial memorabilia captured the moment.

Courtesy University of Iowa Special Collections

I wrote to all 50 states and asked if they had any free bicentennial memorabilia to send me. A lot of it was events calendars or a little swag they had produced. Every state responded. I think it is reflective of the enthusiasm for that commemoration. I retired 10 years ago and gave a lot of material to the University of Idaho, and it’s in its library now. —Keith Petersen, 75, Pullman, Washington

Graduating into the nation

I graduated from North Forsyth High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1976. The entire county was invited to a concert I sang in with the choir, and it told the story of the country’s history through four acts: The Nation Begins, The Nation Takes Shape, The Nation Expands and The Nation Falters. Songs told celebratory and heartbreaking stories. The epilogue was titled “To Each Other” and ended with America the Beautiful. I struggled to sing this last song, being emotionally overwhelmed. This concert caused my 17-year-old brain to think of the United States as a living, breathing entity. Individuals just like me lived through these stages in our history, and they cried, laughed, acted and faced mistakes and victories — all influencing our country. — Annette Fuller, 67, Lake Dallas, Texas

Sound and light

I was working at Mount Vernon [George Washington’s home] at the time as a painter. I worked during the day, then I’d meet up with other college students working the event and we would set up the program for the Sound and Light Show. We watched the show every night and memorized it. The longer I worked here, the more I came to know George Washington and the more awestruck I became by him and what he achieved. Freedom really started there. The one thing that remains from that show are these big lights that are all up and down the Bowling Green, a grassy expanse on the estate, which they still use when they have a special event. These are lights that project up into the big trees that are around the green, and it’s beautiful. Of course, it brings me right back to 1976. — J. Dean Norton, 73, Mount Vernon, Virginia

(After more than five decades of working at Mount Vernon, Norton retired as director of horticulture and livestock. He’s now emeritus director.)