What a long, strange trip it's been. We Boomers have a lifetime of memories that probably, as mountains of memories go, aren't a whole lot different from any generation. Since the Industrial Revolution, quantum leaps in progress during one's lifetime have simply been par for the course.
However, looking back, it was a wild and crazy coincidence that the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence took place during the coincidental rises of the polyester and disco eras. Yes, the massive celebration (so stinking big it's capitalized) that was the Bicentennial somehow hit at the same time that society in general hit what many call its sartorial and musical nadir.
I got a nice HO train set when I was fourteen years old. It cost nearly a hundred bucks, as I recall, a lot of money during that time. What's amazing is that the train engine was painted in red, white, and blue in full Bicentennial regalia, and I barely even noticed.
That's because painting big objects like train engines red, white, and blue was par for the course. Water towers, smokestacks, buildings, automobiles, buses, bridges, they were all tinted the three bold colors. We got used to it.
The Bicentennial was anticipated with the beginning of the decade. Postage stamps appeared with the familiar Bicentennial logo on them by 1972. And the United States mints never produced quarters, halves, and dollars dated 1975. Beginning that year, and continuing through the next, the dates on the aforementioned coins were "1776-1976."
A contest was held in 1972 looking for the best designs for the nation's 200th anniversary. The winners were what ended up in your polyester pants pockets. The Liberty Bell over the Moon on the seldom-seen Eisenhower dollar was absolutely stunning, IMHO.
One of the most impressive exhibitions given was Operation Sail. One of the things I loved doing when I was younger was building model sailing ships. It was two kinds of fun. You got to paint and glue together the plastic parts, then began the tying of the rigging. You would run hundreds of feet of black and brown string through tiny blocks and tie knots in them with tweezers. Months after you began, you ended up with a spectacular miniaturized edition of the Cutty Sark or some other sailing vessel.
Operation Sail gathered working sailing ships from all over the world to New York Harbor. There were lots of events on TV being covered at the time, but not enough of Operation Sail, ask me. What a magnificent sight, seeing these vessels, many of them a hundred years or more old, proudly maneuvering the open seas.
When I envisioned this piece, I figured I could cover my Bicentennial memories with one column, but I can tell that a celebration as encompassing as this one will definitely require further observations as time goes by.
But in the meantime, I leave you with my most vivid memory of the Bicentennial: a record album Every time I hear the word Bicentennial, it reminds me of Richard Pryor's classic 1976 album which began with the same name.
Richard, rest in peace. You were rude, crude, and profane, but you were also one of the funniest people who ever lived.
Comments (4)
Just a few random bicentennial memories..
the "Bicentennial Minute" on CBS, a grownup's version of the saturday morning
"In the news"....Time magazine's editions that
portrayed a few weeks in 1776 as if they were current.....lots of cheesy TV specials, many
with Bob Hope for some reason......The Susan B. Anthony dollar, and all the other coins....
the state sticker promotion at Shell gas stations.....lots of really bad albums with "Up with People" type quasi-chistian groups...extra longh fireworks displays that fourth of july.....special supplements in the local papers all year...
the first occurances of the "Goddamn the USA is great, and all y'all others can kiss my ass"
type of patriotic songs on country radio....companies of every stripe incorporating patriotic themes into commercials
(hey, the founding fathers SHOULD be put to work in the name of mercantilism at all times, though I don't get the coomon use of Geo Washington for waterbed commercials)...
and finally, Elton John's first cheesy hit
(philadelphia freedom took me knee-high to a man.....), which gave us
the first hint that the queen had jumped the shark. Lion King soundtracks would be beckoning around the corner, along with sharing a theater with the puke-inducing canadian anorexic, Celine Dion.......
America! What a country!
And the 70's! What a wonderfully cheesy and funky-ass decade!
Posted by Scott | August 16, 2007 5:16 AM
Posted on August 16, 2007 05:16
I graduated from high school during the Bicentennial year, 1976. So it's easy for me to remember.
Posted by Rhea | August 16, 2007 10:46 AM
Posted on August 16, 2007 10:46
What I remember is that by the time the Bicentennial actually arrived, we were pretty sick of it. I remember thinking that if I heard one more Bicentennial this or that, I would scream. Everyone & everything, I seem to recall, had to get into the act, until it was so overdone.
As fate would have it, 1976 was the year of our HS Jr. Prom. Of course, there was a group of students on the planning committee who felt that we should do the obvious thing and make it a Bicentennial theme (whoa, now wouldn't THAT have been original...). Thank heavens they were outvoted. I recall, however, one dorky couple showing up to the prom adorned in matching red, white & blue. Yes, there were even Bicentennial tuxes. I wonder how they feel looking back at their prom photos.
Posted by WkgnE77 | February 21, 2008 6:26 PM
Posted on February 21, 2008 18:26
It was an exiting time! Our own Country had endured since we broke away from the Crown! We had a lot to be thankful for and we must remember those who faught and died for our Country so we could even have a BiCentennial! God Bless the USA!
Posted by Rivers End | June 30, 2009 3:39 PM
Posted on June 30, 2009 15:39