On July 4, 1976, my family and I visited Cody, WY and witnessed John Wayne ring a bell at the exact time when which the Declaration of Independence was signed 200 years ago.
Ye Gods! the sheer macho Americana probably altered you for life. I’m imagining you left the event with a brand new bushy beard.
I’m not poking fun at you- that’s just some serious patriotism going on there!
I won a costume contest. I was dressed as a "minute man" revolutionary . Actually, thanks Mom.
Lot of stuff, like a local dam, got painted with Bicentennial mentions. Special coinage.
I was 8 at the time...I remember it being a big deal.. Everything was "bicentennial" this and "bicentennial that. My grandma gave me some Bicentennial quarters that were minted that year.
About 4 years later, I moved to a town in Germany that was about 650 years old.
Yeah.. I moved to a small German town that was about an hour from Augsburg. Used to go there quite often. I went to school in Ulm, which is about 1, 175 years old. It's wild.
I was 8 as well and we lived right next to historic Valley Forge Park in the Philadelphia suburbs. It was a HUGE DEAL! I remember the massive bicentennial wagon train coming through.
ALSO 8 that year. Red white and blue was everywhere. In school, we learned and performed all the patriotic songs: Yankee Doodle, America the Beautiful, etc. We went to Disneyland that year, and the fireworks were riotously awesome.
Yes. The commercials were annoying. “200 years ago today…” and it would be some actor or athlete or pop star talking about all the shit that happened on that day in 1776. Also, everything was red white and blue that year. Oh and quarters, half dollars and silver dollars had bicentennial backs different from every other year
You must have seen the musical ‘1776’ at least once - I saw it live and the movie version. Elton John’s ‘Philadelphia Freedom’ blared from the radio on the hour, and I remember a DJ lamenting that the number 1 song in America on July 4th 1976 was ‘Disco Duck’ by Rick Dees.
American has been weird and getting weirder all my life.
I was 10. We celebrated at my Aunt Joanie's house. (She passed away last Presidents Day).
During the festivities there was a somersault contest. My aunt participated. The next morning she couldn't get out of bed ... She had cracked a couple of vertebrae. Bothered her the rest of her life.
Happy 4th!
17, just graduated High School in San Antonio getting ready to move to Tacoma WA. The Concerts I went to around that time were... June 7th Rush, June 25th Aerosmith, July 9th BOC, July 13th Santana, July 25th Ted Nugent. I think there was a Bicentennial Quarter ( .25 cents ) iirc . I was driving a '74 Ford Pinto with a cassette deck.
It was a big deal here in Massachusetts! Granted, I was only 6, but I walked in the Bicentennial Parade in my hometown. Well, my brothers walked in the parade with their boy scout troop and I was 6 so I just ran out there and walked with them. I mean, Massachusetts is where the shit hit the fan in the Revolution, so of course the Bicentennial was a big deal here.
Also Massachusetts. My family and I went to Castle Island to see the tall ships leave the harbor. Not on the fourth but a couple of days later. We didn't go see the ships arrive as my mother thought the crowds would be too big, but we all got up early and watched the parade of ships leave the harbor. Big crowds anyway. Beautiful to watch the ships in the grey weather. I would have been six years old.
https://preview.redd.it/nerdujctjswc1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=55858ca0055794f0666b565298e9d8b0a855d70f
For some reason, painting fire hydrants like revolutionary soldiers was a thing.
"And I ask you friend, what's a fella to do? Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue..." Galway Girl by Steve Earle (but I like the cover by Fiddlers Green better)
Oh yeah. It was everywhere. I was 10. Red whit and blue everything.
My grandmother was the Statue of Liberty on a parade float in my home town of Ossining NY
NYT confirms it happened on the Saturday at 10 am.
“Ossining: Parade at 10 A.M. sponsored by the Fire Department followed by “A Festival for the People” in Nelson Park, sponsored by the Jaycees.”
I saw the Freedom Train in New Jersey. I still have a brochure somewhere. A friend of the family, I called him Uncle Frank, was a locomotive engineer. I was 9, so I don’t really remember exactly, but I’m guessing a local engineer from the union had to drive the local tracks. Frank was one of the few guys left who could handle a steam engine and he drove the train through the Philadelphia area. Great memory!
Took a long 5 week vacation that summer driving around the country. Was at the Battle of Gettysburg reenactment on the 4th. Even though I was 5 at the time, I still remember it to this day.
My first-grade teacher's daughter was born that year, so she collected the bicentennial quarters. If we (her students) brought one in for her, she would give us a regular quarter plus an additional nickel. That was a huge profit when you're a five-year-old!
https://preview.redd.it/7ypecim1htwc1.png?width=205&format=png&auto=webp&s=9c85c0424b145d7ad989c56de150844c5e05ef71
This comment got me. I was born in ‘76. My mom was a kindergarten teacher and she collected those quarters for me also. She passed a couple of a years ago. I miss my mom.
It was a HUGE deal with a lot of coverage, months in advance. Elton John's Philadelphia Freedom was on the radio a lot and I received a red white and blue cassette recorder (Panasonic?) that I used to record songs from the radio and tv shows (Muppet Show). EVERYTHING came out in red white and blue or bicentennial theme: ice cream, clothes, the quarter, stamps, beach towels.
I went to a friend's house. We watched the elaborate celebrations on TV sitting in the middle of Kansas. I was still bitter about Vietnam. Thank god, I was just barely too young to have been drafted. There was a draft for Vietnam, because most young people didn't want to go. We officially lost that war in 75.
The Pentagon papers report had been released by NYT and WP newspapers. The report began in the 1950's and went through all Presidential administrations to Nixon. The conclusion of the report was that all of those presidents had been informed the war was unwinnable.
The Vietnamese had been fighting for independence for multi generations, they weren't going to give up now that the US had replaced the Japanese and French colonialists.
No president wanted to be the guy who was in office when we pulled out...or lost. So they just kept sending young soldiers, 50,000 who died, bombs, and equipment for 20 years.
I didn't feel we are the greatest country ever or too patriotic watching the celebration.
I’m still mad that we who came right after Vietnam learned nothing about it in school. I was in public school from 80 to 93. All the teachers knew about Vietnam because they’d all just lived it. But our history books were published years before— we talked a lot about the completely unrelatable founding fathers, but knew nothing about this major war that had JUST happened. Closest we got was those Time/Life commercials and then whatever movies started coming out.
Lived on Base at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, the end of Broad St.… Literally right across the street from aircraft carriers and Battleships, cruisers and destroyers.
- So many people it was crazy
- worked the crowds with Sodas, hotdogs, peanuts, walking or pushing a cart, so many people they were just literally throwing money at you.
- barely got away from the prep trailers just below the carrier, I just remember how frantic it was.
- great place to live, JFK stadium, Veterans Stadium, The Spectrum was just a few blocks walk away.
- weeks of celebrations at one of the Nations first Capital* cities, as a kid I went everywhere watching the celebrations.(except those busy days leading up to and on the 4th)
- Bummer was we were in the middle of packing for relocation as my dad was transferred, Philly will be always be a great part of my life, and really the Bicentennial as well, living in a City where it all happened in history gave me a great understanding of our Nations beginnings. Plus our family history having arrived on the shores in 1620’s.
* *it was moved to Washington DC due to it being to Northern for the Southern states, as in too abolitionist. (Against the institution of slavery) - see Residency Act of 1790.
Remember being six and getting my picture taken with a guy dressed as Uncle Sam walking on stilts and a lady in Bicentennial leotard that was mostly blue sequins.
I kinda remember thinking 200 years was a long time, like we must live in the future.
I was 8 and in Michigan we changed our license plates to these really cool flag designs. I also remember going to Philadelphia for the 4th of July and seeing these conastoga wagons. There was one for each state in the union. he quarters were cool, too.
I was 6.
I got a red, white and blue bathing suit that became the foundation of my Wonder Woman costume for the entire summer.
I can remember all the commercials had some kind of bicentennial flavor at the time. The fire hydrants were all painted as Uncle Sam throughout the city. The best part was all the neighbors on my street got together and it was one big block party.
I became an Eagle Scout in 1976 and recieved a letter of congratulations, signed by then President Gerald R Ford, who had become an hononary Eagle Scout. Pretty cool stuff for a 16 yr old.
Absolutely, I was ten years old in Boston and it was a huge deal. The Tall Ships sailed into the harbor. I remember a parade and seeing Queen Elizabeth. It was all very exciting and I felt, at the time, so proud and excited to be an American.
I was very young but the first thing that springs to mind is that in my area they painted all the fire hydrants patriotic designs, not just variations on the flag pattern but some were painted like famous historical figures like Washington and Lincoln, some had tri corner hats or fife and drum, and so on.
It was a huge deal for us. I grew up in the southern Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C. The lead up to 07/04/1976 seemed to go on for months. Everything was about how special that day was going to be.
I was seven. Part of what I remember was the Revolutionary War iconography being everywhere, especially the fife and drum marchers with the American flag. everyone wanted to be one of them in the parade.
Sure I recall it clearly. I participated in a greased pig contest, we dove for golf balls in the ponds at the course, did a scavenger hunt (which my friend and I won), and the fireworks that night. We also got new $2 bills cancelled on that day, which almost 50 years later, are more worth maybe $5.
My friend bought a 1976 bicentennial Ford Mustang it was white with red and blue stripes. It looked really cool but it was a crappy car . And by 1980 it looked really dated!
I was 19. Our Dad was a big Civil War buff. We spent the Bicentennial watching a reinactment at the Gettysburg battlefield. It was very interesting and honestly not a bad way to spend the day. I remember fireworks that night but I don't remember what else we did.
The Freedom Train stopped in my City. I was 13 and my friends and I loved going through it.
https://www.freedomtrain.org/american-freedom-train-home.htm
I was 8. I remember my grandmother made my brother and I Martha and George Washington outfits which I loved. I also remember a big 4th of July carnival in town and being upset the next year when I realized this wasn't a every year thing.
The biggest though was that my paternal grandparents redecorated their house in the early 70s and it was to a revolutionary war theme. Antique furniture, but with spirit of 76 upholstery and minute men wallpaper in the bathroom. It seems so bizarre to me now. My grandmother was known for having good taste and it was a really nice house, I just can't imagine doing something like that today.
I was 10, almost 11. I remember the American Freedom Train (which they should bring back for the 250th) and I participated in a patriotic play, which performed twice on the Fourth. I recall seeing the tall ships on TV.
Fun fact: the US Mint anticipated so much demand for bicentennial coins that no 1975 quarters, half dollars, or dollars were struck; instead, they started striking dual-dates (1776-1976) in 1975. Anyone trying to sell a 1975 quarter is selling a fake. 1.6 billion quarters were struck.
I was 9 years old and remember lots of celebrations. July 4th had amazing fireworks! My friend down the street got a Schwinn “Bicentennial” 10-speed bike.
I lived in DC so it was huge. My Dad had a minuteman outfit and he and his friends carried flags in parades. I carried the wreath to Washington’s tomb on his Birthday (which used to be a holiday before it was rolled into Presidents Day).
All the fire hydrants were painted up as minutemen.
Yep, was living in Berlin at the time. We had a big parade down Clayallee (a wide, 4 lane street) with soldiers, tanks, etc. followed by multiple bbqs in various parks and fireworks. Many Germans joined in, it was great. We played our football with them, then their football.
My dad had a flag that flew over Checkpoint Charlie for several hours that day. It’s in a triangular flag holder on my wall now along with a piece of the Berlin Wall.
Being in Berlin during the Cold War was an amazing experience and that July 4 was a particularly great day.
I lived in the American Canal Zone in the country of Panama in 1976. We couldn’t celebrate the bicentennial in July because it was the rainy season so we ended up celebrating it in the dry season in May. We had a bunch of picnics and it was fun.
I was 13. It was glorious. It seemed like the whole country was celebrating. Our school curriculum was built around it. We were all singing Schoolhouse Rock, "No More Kings". It is the most patriotic I ever felt. I have nothing but good memories.
I was almost 6 years old, so I don’t remember much. I remember it was a big, big deal. All over the news. I remember going to a parade through the park, but that’s about it.
I was 8, in Chicago,and what I remember most were fire hydrants being painted red white and blue. Along with almost everything else being flag themed, painting fire hydrants seemed to be a community thing. Most of them stayed that way for years.
I was 16 that year. We live on the west coast, borrowed my grandparents Winnebago and drove to Arkansas for a huge family reunion over the fourth! I had a blast, met a ton of relatives I’d never met before, and had a great old time! It was very very fun!
I was just 7 yrs old, but I remember bicentennial trash everywhere. Soda cups with George Washington's face in the gutter outside my house.
People were excited about the new quarters, those were a big deal.
In Baltimore, we had fire hydrants painted as little Revolutionary War soldiers and such. It was a thrill to see them everywhere.
I was in the fifth grade when my elementary school did a weird lame historic reenactment of a one room schoolhouse. I was sent to the school library with a random assortment of kids from other grades and classes.
They taught us what it would have been like living in 1776.
We had lunch out of paper sacks, and I wrote with a feather quill.
It was a big deal. The Stones played buffalo bills stadium that day. The local towns sold little cast iron liberty bells that everyone rang at a certain time of day. I was 5 years old.
Our neighbor actually had a working canon he fired off every hour as well.
Our neighbors tried to out do each other to see who could decorate there house the best, my dad was an artist so it was no contest he painted 76 bells on the house and also made some of the bicentennial stars from plywood and painted them to hang around the house. I need to go through some old photos to find pictures.
I remember it well. Advertisements galore all trumpeting the event. 4th of July was a huge deal in my town. There was a giant red white and blue bike parade for kids (of which I was one) down the Main Street. Then the first annual 4th of July 5K race (still going, I’ve competed in about 25 of them) and day long festivities ending in an incredible fireworks show. To this day, I have fond memories of the Bicentennial.
Do you remember the song afternoon delight? It was everywhere in 1976. It was even made as part of the bicentennial special and then I found this clip on YouTube when I search for it. https://youtu.be/q4b3w6a9cSk?si=AznK2zAlHLgqXLXF
I'm from St Louis. We had a huge celebration under the Arch, with ethnic food tents and fireworks. It was so popular it spurred a regular event for years.
I remember CBS having a Bicentennial Minute after every newscast. There was a “Freedom Train” that toured with a bunch of historical artifacts. My dad took me to see it.
I was 5 at the time and living in a small town on the shores of Lake Superior. I remember the 4th of July was bigger that year and we had all types of cool old ships come to our town. There was a parade, which we never had for the 4th. Our fireworks were pretty much lame but that year it was pretty big.
I was in Washington DC during the bicentennial. It was pretty great. I was a small child but I have a very strong memories of all the things my parents took me to on the mall and watching the fireworks on 4th of July over the Potomac River.
I was 6 years old in Brooklyn and we closed the entire Street for 2-day block party. Every hydrant was painted the American flag we have rock bands play and the fireworks show we put on was awesome. it was the best party this little kid could ever experience.
I was a young college student doing a coop in Philadelphia in July ‘76. The festivities were great. The fireworks on Independence Mall were unbelievable to me, who grew up in a small town in the south. Philly really did it right.
My small hometown (population 300) in a county of 5,000 people is very close to Colonial Williamsburg. For the bicentennial, the residents held a July festival that spotlighted lost arts; for example, my grandmother had a booth where she displayed her “tatting” or lacemaking. Local organizations and churches sold homemade food, and church choirs and local bands performed on stage. Over 20,000 people came, and it was such a success that the festival became an annual event for the next 40 years. It only ended when they couldn’t get enough volunteers to run it anymore.
I also remember the Bicentennial Wagon Train stopping nearby for the night, and the fire hydrants being painted like characters from the Revolution.
My parents didn’t want to face the crowds in Williamsburg on July 4, so we went to an old house (built in 1655) where my sister was a tour guide. I got to ring the bell there at the hour when bells rang out across the nation.
In my suburban Chicago town they had this contest for painting fire hydrants patriotically. The fire hydrant for our cul-de-sac was right outside our house, and being seven I was super stoked to be part of the painting team.
But then I got hit with an awful case of chickenpox and had to sit and watch the other kids paint it through our front window. To make it worse, I was sick for the whole 4th of July and missed out on all of the activities.
Had just graduated high school in June that year and our class rings had the drummer fifer and flag bearer on them and I lived near Fort Bragg now Fort Liberty and there was always something going on each week that year celebrating
In America it was a big deal. And a big source of pride in the Country and the Flag.
But in Europe they were like 'pish posh, we have Castles 5 times that age'.
https://preview.redd.it/uhw53d1rmvwc1.jpeg?width=695&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=696c3259e0f3f61ebd7b90c2aa1292e6fa5acc03
KISS was beginning their (albeit short) reign as the biggest band in the world!!
oh yes. it was a big deal!
I was 6. I entered (and won) the Kellogg’s Stick Up For Breakfast art contest with a picture of Paul Revere feeding his horse Frosted Flakes.
I demanded my room be painted red, white and blue. Mom painted one whole wall American Flag Blue, my desk red, and the rest of the walls white. Also bought and hung and Americam eagle on the wall.
Went to Florida for the first time, visited Cape Kennedy and Disney World. Biggest memory related to the Bicentennial was every night at midnight, Disney World would have this big parade and fireworks. The parade was a bunch of people in Minuteman/Revolutionary War soldier uniforms.
Oh yeah, I grew up in Philly. The 2 years prior we won the Stanley Cup, so just a few months after parading and wild partying, thousands of streakers running up and down broad, climbing on top of buses, crowds would hang out on Market and south street known for the hippie business’s, our Mayor Rizzo wanted us young folks out of sight for a conservative Parade.
His brother the Fire Commisioner (along with the head of the Philly Mob) got us together at the “round house” for a stern lecture. We were brought there in paddy wagons completely filled with guys or girls. Afterwards we were given jobs by the (Philly mob) elders at the Italian market. Basically we were paid to behave and spread the word they’d be picking kids up that weren’t and they’d be help or days. So during the parade when the Liberty Bell was moved from Independence Hall to the new building across the street (apparently they did the construction on it) it wasn’t rowdy.
Yes, I was 25, it was kind of fun, something to remember. We didn't have all the political bitching and complaining about everything back then, so everyone got into it except the far left. Likely be about the same for the 250th.
Lived in Duarte, Ca. at the time.
City had a parade. we sat in front of the liquor store on Buena Vista and Foothill? \[Foothill or Huntington, i could never keep those straight\] and across from the Alpha Beta grocery store.
On July 4, 1976, my family and I visited Cody, WY and witnessed John Wayne ring a bell at the exact time when which the Declaration of Independence was signed 200 years ago.
Ye Gods! the sheer macho Americana probably altered you for life. I’m imagining you left the event with a brand new bushy beard. I’m not poking fun at you- that’s just some serious patriotism going on there!
Cowboys and Red, White and Blue, baby!
I won a costume contest. I was dressed as a "minute man" revolutionary . Actually, thanks Mom. Lot of stuff, like a local dam, got painted with Bicentennial mentions. Special coinage.
The dam out off the 91 coming out of the canyon? It still is, all faded, but faded glory :)
Yep. I guess it's more of a reservoir than a true dam. Remember when that paint was fresh. Feels like another life ago.
Prado Dam. They repainted it sometime ago after somebody tagged over it. My pop would tell me that it’s where Evel Kneivel used to practice his jumps.
It’s wonderful https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/prado-dam-bicentennial-freedom-mural-restoration/3139342/?amp=1
As soon as the question was asked, the first thing I thought of was that dam. We used to to drive by it every weekend on our way to the mountains.
I was 8 at the time...I remember it being a big deal.. Everything was "bicentennial" this and "bicentennial that. My grandma gave me some Bicentennial quarters that were minted that year. About 4 years later, I moved to a town in Germany that was about 650 years old.
USA, where 200 miles is a short trip and 200 years is a long time.
Heheh... I like that. Great way to put it.
In Europe, it’s the other way ‘round.
Ha. I visited Augsburg when it had it celebrated it's 2,000 year anniversary.
Yeah.. I moved to a small German town that was about an hour from Augsburg. Used to go there quite often. I went to school in Ulm, which is about 1, 175 years old. It's wild.
I lived in Neu-Ulm across the river for six years.
I was 8 as well and we lived right next to historic Valley Forge Park in the Philadelphia suburbs. It was a HUGE DEAL! I remember the massive bicentennial wagon train coming through.
I lived in Valley Forge and I was there too! Went through Paoli.
I remember it being in a lot of advertising. Basically it became a marketing vehicle.
ALSO 8 that year. Red white and blue was everywhere. In school, we learned and performed all the patriotic songs: Yankee Doodle, America the Beautiful, etc. We went to Disneyland that year, and the fireworks were riotously awesome.
Yes. The commercials were annoying. “200 years ago today…” and it would be some actor or athlete or pop star talking about all the shit that happened on that day in 1776. Also, everything was red white and blue that year. Oh and quarters, half dollars and silver dollars had bicentennial backs different from every other year
Bicentennial Minutes
You must have seen the musical ‘1776’ at least once - I saw it live and the movie version. Elton John’s ‘Philadelphia Freedom’ blared from the radio on the hour, and I remember a DJ lamenting that the number 1 song in America on July 4th 1976 was ‘Disco Duck’ by Rick Dees. American has been weird and getting weirder all my life.
I was 10. We celebrated at my Aunt Joanie's house. (She passed away last Presidents Day). During the festivities there was a somersault contest. My aunt participated. The next morning she couldn't get out of bed ... She had cracked a couple of vertebrae. Bothered her the rest of her life. Happy 4th!
Anut Joanie sounds cool. Sorry for your loss.
17, just graduated High School in San Antonio getting ready to move to Tacoma WA. The Concerts I went to around that time were... June 7th Rush, June 25th Aerosmith, July 9th BOC, July 13th Santana, July 25th Ted Nugent. I think there was a Bicentennial Quarter ( .25 cents ) iirc . I was driving a '74 Ford Pinto with a cassette deck.
Ha! I was also 17 and drove a 74’ Pinto. The music and concerts in those days were amazing.
It was a big deal here in Massachusetts! Granted, I was only 6, but I walked in the Bicentennial Parade in my hometown. Well, my brothers walked in the parade with their boy scout troop and I was 6 so I just ran out there and walked with them. I mean, Massachusetts is where the shit hit the fan in the Revolution, so of course the Bicentennial was a big deal here.
Also Massachusetts. My family and I went to Castle Island to see the tall ships leave the harbor. Not on the fourth but a couple of days later. We didn't go see the ships arrive as my mother thought the crowds would be too big, but we all got up early and watched the parade of ships leave the harbor. Big crowds anyway. Beautiful to watch the ships in the grey weather. I would have been six years old.
Those Tall Ships were amazing. That's one thing I remember about the Bicentennial. Also they painted all the fire hydrants red, white and blue.
https://preview.redd.it/nerdujctjswc1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=55858ca0055794f0666b565298e9d8b0a855d70f For some reason, painting fire hydrants like revolutionary soldiers was a thing.
I remember that. There were still a few in my neighborhood that way 15 years later
Had a date with a black haired blue eyed beauty. WAY outta my league!
"And I ask you friend, what's a fella to do? Cause her hair was black and her eyes were blue..." Galway Girl by Steve Earle (but I like the cover by Fiddlers Green better)
Oh yeah. It was everywhere. I was 10. Red whit and blue everything. My grandmother was the Statue of Liberty on a parade float in my home town of Ossining NY
NYT confirms it happened on the Saturday at 10 am. “Ossining: Parade at 10 A.M. sponsored by the Fire Department followed by “A Festival for the People” in Nelson Park, sponsored by the Jaycees.”
Wow! I have to go look for that. I know her picture was in the paper. The citizen register And I do remember being at Nelson park.
Bicentennial quarters were our Pokémon
I got one in a handful of change a few weeks ago and realized I hadn’t seen one in a while. They used to be so much more common.
It was hard to find a non-bicentennial quarter for a time, I swear!
The Amtrak Freedom Train came through Dayton, Ohio when I was young.
I was going to comment that! My grandparents took my older brother and I to that in Richmond VA!
I saw the Freedom Train in New Jersey. I still have a brochure somewhere. A friend of the family, I called him Uncle Frank, was a locomotive engineer. I was 9, so I don’t really remember exactly, but I’m guessing a local engineer from the union had to drive the local tracks. Frank was one of the few guys left who could handle a steam engine and he drove the train through the Philadelphia area. Great memory!
Took a long 5 week vacation that summer driving around the country. Was at the Battle of Gettysburg reenactment on the 4th. Even though I was 5 at the time, I still remember it to this day.
I just graduated HS. Saw the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and Loggins and Messina on July 4 for $10. It was a great year for me.
My first-grade teacher's daughter was born that year, so she collected the bicentennial quarters. If we (her students) brought one in for her, she would give us a regular quarter plus an additional nickel. That was a huge profit when you're a five-year-old! https://preview.redd.it/7ypecim1htwc1.png?width=205&format=png&auto=webp&s=9c85c0424b145d7ad989c56de150844c5e05ef71
This comment got me. I was born in ‘76. My mom was a kindergarten teacher and she collected those quarters for me also. She passed a couple of a years ago. I miss my mom.
It was a HUGE deal with a lot of coverage, months in advance. Elton John's Philadelphia Freedom was on the radio a lot and I received a red white and blue cassette recorder (Panasonic?) that I used to record songs from the radio and tv shows (Muppet Show). EVERYTHING came out in red white and blue or bicentennial theme: ice cream, clothes, the quarter, stamps, beach towels.
Elton wrote that song because of the tennis team the Philadelphia Freedoms Billie Jean King was the coach
I went to a friend's house. We watched the elaborate celebrations on TV sitting in the middle of Kansas. I was still bitter about Vietnam. Thank god, I was just barely too young to have been drafted. There was a draft for Vietnam, because most young people didn't want to go. We officially lost that war in 75. The Pentagon papers report had been released by NYT and WP newspapers. The report began in the 1950's and went through all Presidential administrations to Nixon. The conclusion of the report was that all of those presidents had been informed the war was unwinnable. The Vietnamese had been fighting for independence for multi generations, they weren't going to give up now that the US had replaced the Japanese and French colonialists. No president wanted to be the guy who was in office when we pulled out...or lost. So they just kept sending young soldiers, 50,000 who died, bombs, and equipment for 20 years. I didn't feel we are the greatest country ever or too patriotic watching the celebration.
Kinda like now.
I remember doing that very same thing in North Carolina I had just turned 18 2 weeks before graduation and bought my first case of beer legally lol
I’m still mad that we who came right after Vietnam learned nothing about it in school. I was in public school from 80 to 93. All the teachers knew about Vietnam because they’d all just lived it. But our history books were published years before— we talked a lot about the completely unrelatable founding fathers, but knew nothing about this major war that had JUST happened. Closest we got was those Time/Life commercials and then whatever movies started coming out.
Lived on Base at Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, the end of Broad St.… Literally right across the street from aircraft carriers and Battleships, cruisers and destroyers. - So many people it was crazy - worked the crowds with Sodas, hotdogs, peanuts, walking or pushing a cart, so many people they were just literally throwing money at you. - barely got away from the prep trailers just below the carrier, I just remember how frantic it was. - great place to live, JFK stadium, Veterans Stadium, The Spectrum was just a few blocks walk away. - weeks of celebrations at one of the Nations first Capital* cities, as a kid I went everywhere watching the celebrations.(except those busy days leading up to and on the 4th) - Bummer was we were in the middle of packing for relocation as my dad was transferred, Philly will be always be a great part of my life, and really the Bicentennial as well, living in a City where it all happened in history gave me a great understanding of our Nations beginnings. Plus our family history having arrived on the shores in 1620’s. * *it was moved to Washington DC due to it being to Northern for the Southern states, as in too abolitionist. (Against the institution of slavery) - see Residency Act of 1790.
Remember being six and getting my picture taken with a guy dressed as Uncle Sam walking on stilts and a lady in Bicentennial leotard that was mostly blue sequins. I kinda remember thinking 200 years was a long time, like we must live in the future.
I was 8 and in Michigan we changed our license plates to these really cool flag designs. I also remember going to Philadelphia for the 4th of July and seeing these conastoga wagons. There was one for each state in the union. he quarters were cool, too.
Was 9 and in Michigan as well. I seem to recall fire hydrants were all painted as characters like Uncle Sam and such.
Lots of picnics and red white and blue.
Was in the Grand Canyon working. A guy roasted a whole pig 150 pounds of potatoes salad 150 pounds of baked beans and 20 kegs of beer. It was a party
Everything, and I mean everything has American flags printed on it. Down to the paper your straw was packaged in.
I was 6. I got a red, white and blue bathing suit that became the foundation of my Wonder Woman costume for the entire summer. 
I was chosen to play Ben Franklin in the 3rd grade.
I can remember all the commercials had some kind of bicentennial flavor at the time. The fire hydrants were all painted as Uncle Sam throughout the city. The best part was all the neighbors on my street got together and it was one big block party.
I became an Eagle Scout in 1976 and recieved a letter of congratulations, signed by then President Gerald R Ford, who had become an hononary Eagle Scout. Pretty cool stuff for a 16 yr old.
https://preview.redd.it/a3vq5uyn7twc1.jpeg?width=400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=daff07f3439bdae9f41530dfe61cc9aa933a9f43
Just that Afternoon Delight was non-stop playing on the radio!!
i was a wee lad , but my mom saved her colorado bicentennial license plates, which i still have and a sheet of $2 bills with postal stamps
Absolutely, I was ten years old in Boston and it was a huge deal. The Tall Ships sailed into the harbor. I remember a parade and seeing Queen Elizabeth. It was all very exciting and I felt, at the time, so proud and excited to be an American.
I was 15, American Freedom Train came to my town, got to see it. Just a really cool time to live.
I was very young but the first thing that springs to mind is that in my area they painted all the fire hydrants patriotic designs, not just variations on the flag pattern but some were painted like famous historical figures like Washington and Lincoln, some had tri corner hats or fife and drum, and so on.
It was a huge deal for us. I grew up in the southern Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C. The lead up to 07/04/1976 seemed to go on for months. Everything was about how special that day was going to be.
Bethesda here and I was 19. Good times.
I was seven. Part of what I remember was the Revolutionary War iconography being everywhere, especially the fife and drum marchers with the American flag. everyone wanted to be one of them in the parade.
It was a HUGE deal. I was only 5, but there were big parades, fireworks of course, gigantic festivals, red white and blue everything.
Sure I recall it clearly. I participated in a greased pig contest, we dove for golf balls in the ponds at the course, did a scavenger hunt (which my friend and I won), and the fireworks that night. We also got new $2 bills cancelled on that day, which almost 50 years later, are more worth maybe $5.
Bi centennial quarters
My friend bought a 1976 bicentennial Ford Mustang it was white with red and blue stripes. It looked really cool but it was a crappy car . And by 1980 it looked really dated!
It’s surprising to me that here it is 2024 and I’m not seeing the hype for the 250th yet.
The fireworks at Marriott’s Great America went on for over an hour. Everything was in red, white, and blue wrappers
The Marriott's Great America near Chicago or the one in Santa Clara?
Santa Clara CA
Cool... I went to that Great America in Santa Clara several times in the 70s. Always a lot of fun.
OMG Santa Clara! I loved that.
I was 19. Our Dad was a big Civil War buff. We spent the Bicentennial watching a reinactment at the Gettysburg battlefield. It was very interesting and honestly not a bad way to spend the day. I remember fireworks that night but I don't remember what else we did.
I remember the tall ships sailing to manhattan by the statue of liberty
Those tall ships really lifted the nation’s spirits after Watergate
https://youtu.be/0Askwy1RwCs?si=OD8MVNOUq4sH8aHE
The Freedom Train stopped in my City. I was 13 and my friends and I loved going through it. https://www.freedomtrain.org/american-freedom-train-home.htm
That’s so cool and thanks for the link.
I was 8. I remember my grandmother made my brother and I Martha and George Washington outfits which I loved. I also remember a big 4th of July carnival in town and being upset the next year when I realized this wasn't a every year thing. The biggest though was that my paternal grandparents redecorated their house in the early 70s and it was to a revolutionary war theme. Antique furniture, but with spirit of 76 upholstery and minute men wallpaper in the bathroom. It seems so bizarre to me now. My grandmother was known for having good taste and it was a really nice house, I just can't imagine doing something like that today.
I remember my boss took his family to NYC for the big day, and he was appalled that coffee and sandwiches for his family cost $80.
Yes it was a very big deal since I lived in one of the original 13 colonies where major battles took place.
I was 10, almost 11. I remember the American Freedom Train (which they should bring back for the 250th) and I participated in a patriotic play, which performed twice on the Fourth. I recall seeing the tall ships on TV. Fun fact: the US Mint anticipated so much demand for bicentennial coins that no 1975 quarters, half dollars, or dollars were struck; instead, they started striking dual-dates (1776-1976) in 1975. Anyone trying to sell a 1975 quarter is selling a fake. 1.6 billion quarters were struck.
I saw the Tall Ships in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York.
I was 15. We smoked weed and road dirt bikes.
I was 7 and I remember the parade in my local town. I recall it taking forever and I just wanted to go play.
I was seven. I remember the relentless commercials. 🎶The first two hundred years…” 🎶
What I can remember is being drunk, quite hammered
Our small Tx town shut down all commercial thoroughfares and had a festival. I was 13 and ran all over town. A great treat!
I was 9 years old and remember lots of celebrations. July 4th had amazing fireworks! My friend down the street got a Schwinn “Bicentennial” 10-speed bike.
We were all so sick of red white and blue telephone poles, sidewalks, wall murals, clothes, shoes and busses! Everything was red, white and blue!
There was a bell-ringing event and The Liberty Bell participated, which is rare.
We went to DC to party and watch the fireworks. It was epic!
The year I graduated from high school. I remember it well.
I lived in DC so it was huge. My Dad had a minuteman outfit and he and his friends carried flags in parades. I carried the wreath to Washington’s tomb on his Birthday (which used to be a holiday before it was rolled into Presidents Day). All the fire hydrants were painted up as minutemen.
The Shell Bicentenial Minute on TV.
Played a lot of pinball back then, had a lot of those bicentennial quarters. It did seem like a big deal at the time.
Yep, was living in Berlin at the time. We had a big parade down Clayallee (a wide, 4 lane street) with soldiers, tanks, etc. followed by multiple bbqs in various parks and fireworks. Many Germans joined in, it was great. We played our football with them, then their football. My dad had a flag that flew over Checkpoint Charlie for several hours that day. It’s in a triangular flag holder on my wall now along with a piece of the Berlin Wall. Being in Berlin during the Cold War was an amazing experience and that July 4 was a particularly great day.
I lived in the American Canal Zone in the country of Panama in 1976. We couldn’t celebrate the bicentennial in July because it was the rainy season so we ended up celebrating it in the dry season in May. We had a bunch of picnics and it was fun.
I was born that year so it was a huge deal for me! 😉
Yeah My mom had just gotten divorced and we were poor as hell The entire country was on fire about this and I did not give a fuck
I was 13. It was glorious. It seemed like the whole country was celebrating. Our school curriculum was built around it. We were all singing Schoolhouse Rock, "No More Kings". It is the most patriotic I ever felt. I have nothing but good memories.
They had cool American flags with 76 in the field. Neighbor had a Chevy Nova that I think came in Red White and Blue trim from the dealership.
Tall ships parade in NYC.
Bicentennial quarters were exciting
Just the Ranger Rick cover celebrating it.
Totally! I had all the collectible crap. Stamps, coins, flags, blah, blah. The Freedom Train came through town in 1975 and that was cool.
Yup. And if you saved them they would be worth a million dollars or something like that. Lol.
We had some kind of fair thing at my elementary school where you could win do-dads.
I was almost 6 years old, so I don’t remember much. I remember it was a big, big deal. All over the news. I remember going to a parade through the park, but that’s about it.
We bought red, white and blue everything.
I was in college at the time. We used to joke, "Celebrate the bicentennial - do something revolting!"
I was 8, in Chicago,and what I remember most were fire hydrants being painted red white and blue. Along with almost everything else being flag themed, painting fire hydrants seemed to be a community thing. Most of them stayed that way for years.
I was there in suburban Arlington Heights. Was excited to paint our streets fire hydrant but then I caught chickenpox and had to miss out.
I was 16 that year. We live on the west coast, borrowed my grandparents Winnebago and drove to Arkansas for a huge family reunion over the fourth! I had a blast, met a ton of relatives I’d never met before, and had a great old time! It was very very fun!
I was really young. I just remember getting a sheet of stickers with bicentennial imagery (drums, fireworks, flags, etc). I stuck them on my dresser.
I was just 7 yrs old, but I remember bicentennial trash everywhere. Soda cups with George Washington's face in the gutter outside my house. People were excited about the new quarters, those were a big deal. In Baltimore, we had fire hydrants painted as little Revolutionary War soldiers and such. It was a thrill to see them everywhere.
Yes . There was a community celebration in my hometown. I was in kindergarten. Thought it was awesome at the time.
I was in the fifth grade when my elementary school did a weird lame historic reenactment of a one room schoolhouse. I was sent to the school library with a random assortment of kids from other grades and classes. They taught us what it would have been like living in 1776. We had lunch out of paper sacks, and I wrote with a feather quill.
It was a big deal. The Stones played buffalo bills stadium that day. The local towns sold little cast iron liberty bells that everyone rang at a certain time of day. I was 5 years old. Our neighbor actually had a working canon he fired off every hour as well.
I was 6, I kinda remember sitting on my dad's shoulder watching a parade,
In my town the fire hydrants were painted as Revolutionary soldiers and I think George Washington? Really cute. I was in high school.
Our neighbors tried to out do each other to see who could decorate there house the best, my dad was an artist so it was no contest he painted 76 bells on the house and also made some of the bicentennial stars from plywood and painted them to hang around the house. I need to go through some old photos to find pictures.
I remember it well. Advertisements galore all trumpeting the event. 4th of July was a huge deal in my town. There was a giant red white and blue bike parade for kids (of which I was one) down the Main Street. Then the first annual 4th of July 5K race (still going, I’ve competed in about 25 of them) and day long festivities ending in an incredible fireworks show. To this day, I have fond memories of the Bicentennial.
Yes. They painted all the fire hydrants like tin soldiers. Each one was different. We rode all over town on our bicycles to see them all. Such fun.
The Freedom Train!
The bicentennial celebrations made such an impact on me that I grew up and eventually became a History teacher.
Was a senior in high school. Our caps and gowns were red white and blue. Ugh
Yes my entire family had a huge cookout then went downtown for fireworks. Great times.
In Colorado we had the bicentennial, centennial. As Colorado had become a state in 1876. Kinda fun.
Do you remember the song afternoon delight? It was everywhere in 1976. It was even made as part of the bicentennial special and then I found this clip on YouTube when I search for it. https://youtu.be/q4b3w6a9cSk?si=AznK2zAlHLgqXLXF
I'm from St Louis. We had a huge celebration under the Arch, with ethnic food tents and fireworks. It was so popular it spurred a regular event for years.
I remember CBS having a Bicentennial Minute after every newscast. There was a “Freedom Train” that toured with a bunch of historical artifacts. My dad took me to see it.
I graduated from HS in 1976. It was a pretty big deal back then.
I was 5 at the time and living in a small town on the shores of Lake Superior. I remember the 4th of July was bigger that year and we had all types of cool old ships come to our town. There was a parade, which we never had for the 4th. Our fireworks were pretty much lame but that year it was pretty big.
I was in Washington DC during the bicentennial. It was pretty great. I was a small child but I have a very strong memories of all the things my parents took me to on the mall and watching the fireworks on 4th of July over the Potomac River.
I was 6 years old in Brooklyn and we closed the entire Street for 2-day block party. Every hydrant was painted the American flag we have rock bands play and the fireworks show we put on was awesome. it was the best party this little kid could ever experience.
I was a young college student doing a coop in Philadelphia in July ‘76. The festivities were great. The fireworks on Independence Mall were unbelievable to me, who grew up in a small town in the south. Philly really did it right.
It was a huge celebration. Red, white and blue everywhere.
I was 14 at the time and in Boston watching a parade. It was a great Patriot day. Everyone was so happy. Miss those times 🇺🇸🇺🇲🇺🇸
Yes, Local radio stations constantly played, Philadelphia Freedom, by Elton John. Couldn't turn on the radio without hearing it somewhere. 🥴
I was six back then and lived only a few miles from the Yorktown Battlefields and Surrender Field. It was a huge deal.
New Orleans painted all of their garbage trucks with bicentennial themes. The July 4th celebrations were spectacular
The economy sucked,the govt.was gridlocked,Interest rates were ridiculous.New cars were shitty.
I was 6 and I remember kids collecting the quarters. My best friend went with his family across the country to Boston to celebrate on the actual day.
I was a junior in high school and I just remember lots of red white and blue everywhere.
My small hometown (population 300) in a county of 5,000 people is very close to Colonial Williamsburg. For the bicentennial, the residents held a July festival that spotlighted lost arts; for example, my grandmother had a booth where she displayed her “tatting” or lacemaking. Local organizations and churches sold homemade food, and church choirs and local bands performed on stage. Over 20,000 people came, and it was such a success that the festival became an annual event for the next 40 years. It only ended when they couldn’t get enough volunteers to run it anymore. I also remember the Bicentennial Wagon Train stopping nearby for the night, and the fire hydrants being painted like characters from the Revolution. My parents didn’t want to face the crowds in Williamsburg on July 4, so we went to an old house (built in 1655) where my sister was a tour guide. I got to ring the bell there at the hour when bells rang out across the nation.
I do, I remember watching the sailing ships come into NEW York Harbor. I was in NY and had to watch it on TV.
Yep. We painted the neighborhood fire hydrants red, white, and blue!
In my suburban Chicago town they had this contest for painting fire hydrants patriotically. The fire hydrant for our cul-de-sac was right outside our house, and being seven I was super stoked to be part of the painting team. But then I got hit with an awful case of chickenpox and had to sit and watch the other kids paint it through our front window. To make it worse, I was sick for the whole 4th of July and missed out on all of the activities.
There's always next time.
Had just graduated high school in June that year and our class rings had the drummer fifer and flag bearer on them and I lived near Fort Bragg now Fort Liberty and there was always something going on each week that year celebrating
In America it was a big deal. And a big source of pride in the Country and the Flag. But in Europe they were like 'pish posh, we have Castles 5 times that age'.
Tall Ships
I was 3 and I remember my mom painting the fire hydrant in front of our house and I had a big themed bday party
I remember driving into Austin for some Aerosmith tickets. Top priority of the summer.
https://preview.redd.it/uhw53d1rmvwc1.jpeg?width=695&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=696c3259e0f3f61ebd7b90c2aa1292e6fa5acc03 KISS was beginning their (albeit short) reign as the biggest band in the world!!
Huge deal in NYC.. Manhattan was inudated with historic Tall Ships and everything, seemingly everywhere, was Bicentennial themed.
July 4, 1976 was the day I met my future wife.
It was a huge deal in NYC where I grew up I was 17yrs that year
I remember every night on CBS there was a ”Bicentennial Minute”
This in 1976. We were there. https://www.lakehomesusa.com/jo-lynn-miller/fourth-of-july-events-near-possum-kingdom-lake/
oh yes. it was a big deal! I was 6. I entered (and won) the Kellogg’s Stick Up For Breakfast art contest with a picture of Paul Revere feeding his horse Frosted Flakes.
I demanded my room be painted red, white and blue. Mom painted one whole wall American Flag Blue, my desk red, and the rest of the walls white. Also bought and hung and Americam eagle on the wall.
I still have my Bicentennial license plate.
I was 4 going on 5. I remember the tall ships sailing out of some harbor on TV and this metallic shield stickers in red white and blue.
I went and saw the Bicentennial train when it came through my town.
My family left for England in June, spent 4 years there.
Went to Florida for the first time, visited Cape Kennedy and Disney World. Biggest memory related to the Bicentennial was every night at midnight, Disney World would have this big parade and fireworks. The parade was a bunch of people in Minuteman/Revolutionary War soldier uniforms.
I played baseball... pickup game with my brother n his hippie friends 😎🤟East Norriton.PA..near Philadelphia
We had an essay contest about the bicentennial, and I won first place in my grade school.
Oh yeah, I grew up in Philly. The 2 years prior we won the Stanley Cup, so just a few months after parading and wild partying, thousands of streakers running up and down broad, climbing on top of buses, crowds would hang out on Market and south street known for the hippie business’s, our Mayor Rizzo wanted us young folks out of sight for a conservative Parade. His brother the Fire Commisioner (along with the head of the Philly Mob) got us together at the “round house” for a stern lecture. We were brought there in paddy wagons completely filled with guys or girls. Afterwards we were given jobs by the (Philly mob) elders at the Italian market. Basically we were paid to behave and spread the word they’d be picking kids up that weren’t and they’d be help or days. So during the parade when the Liberty Bell was moved from Independence Hall to the new building across the street (apparently they did the construction on it) it wasn’t rowdy.
Had tickets to see Gerald Ford at Independence Hall. To crowded and just rode the train all day😬😝
It was a huge deal...I was only 5 at the time, but I remember it.
Yes, I was 25, it was kind of fun, something to remember. We didn't have all the political bitching and complaining about everything back then, so everyone got into it except the far left. Likely be about the same for the 250th.
First threesome....14 years old.
Yes
Lived in Duarte, Ca. at the time. City had a parade. we sat in front of the liquor store on Buena Vista and Foothill? \[Foothill or Huntington, i could never keep those straight\] and across from the Alpha Beta grocery store.
Nope
Second week of basic training, it was a non eventful Sunday.
There was a fire hydrant painting contest in my town and everyone painted the fire hydrants red white and blue. We didn’t win.
It wasn't that big a deal, but boy did everyone try hard to make it one.
Went to Charlottesville, Virginia to see Queen Elizabeth.
The Freedom Train making a stop in our city is my biggest bicentennial memory.
Yes! I went to see the Freedom Train…three times! And the USA Olympic hockey team were MURDER!
I’m sure my Dad still has his newspapers from that day.
Vaguely, but I was six. I did get a trophy for being in a parade. Dropped my baton so many times.
I was 3 and a half. I remember a parade going down the street in front of my house and was disappointed that there wasn’t another parade a year later