250th Birthday

[Murfreesboro]

I feel pretty ignorant now. I once spent a week in colonial Williamsburg (an academic conference of sorts, where we all took specialized classes from other profs), but I never even knew about this side of it, that they would make and sell reproductions of their antiques, etc. And I am a little envious of that Bicentennial china, even though I have no use for it at all.

[Murfreesboro]

HH, since you're a father of school-aged kids, you should know that there's a good animated series called Liberty's Kids that teaches children about the Revolutuon. My kids watched it on tv in the 90s, I think, and since then we've acquired the whole series on dvd. It tells the history of the American Revolution through the experience of three children, two American boys, one white and one black, and an English girl.

And I just looked it up online. Apparently there is also a French boy I'd forgotten about. The series has a pretty good rating for historical accuracy.

[Andybev01]

Charles schultz also had a short lived series starring the Peanuts gang , explaining various events in american history.

I believe this was vintage 1980s.

Where to Find It (As of May 2026):
Vudu (Fandango at Home): Available for purchase by the episode or season.
Google Play Movies & TV: Available for purchase.
Amazon: DVD copies are available for purchase.
YouTube: Individual episodes or clips may be available via user playlists, though not an official release

[Andybev01]

I feel pretty ignorant now. I once spent a week in colonial Williamsburg (an academic conference of sorts, where we all took specialized classes from other profs), but I never even knew about this side of it, that they would make and sell reproductions of their antiques, etc. And I am a little envious of that Bicentennial china, even though I have no use for it at all.

I'm sure that I wouldn't even know what Williamsburg was, but one of the jobs my father took right before WWII broke out was in Washington DC and he made it a point to scour the eastern seaboard for historical sites.

There is a short but interesting documentary that you can find on YouTube, of the Rockefellers and they're involvement in starting the Williamsburg foundation and restoring the historic buildings.

https://youtu.be/Ptqhdvaqdls?si=yCxWaCKTFKpgZkTu

The furniture and fabrics and home goods that they make are true to the original designs and craft quality.

https://shop.colonialwilliamsburg.com/1 ... ury-goods/

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

How astonishing that your aunt's lifespan promises to embrace three of these significant anniversaries! That ought to be featured on tv or something.

I agree, and I know that I'd want to watch a story like that on the news, but Millie was interviewed for her birthday last year, and at the time she seemed fine with it, but a few months later she said that if we ever put her on tv again that she would shoot us.

There are some 110-115 year olds still around that probably have a better perspective on the topic because they were older than her during those events, and it would be great to hear their memories of the celebrations back then.

[Murfreesboro]

When my daughter and I went to Charleston last Oct, I was surprised to learn how important South Carolina was in the Revolutionary War. I knew the Civil War had started there, but I'd never known that the majority of Rev War battles had happened there. I just finished a book I bought there about Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. In school we were taught that the Rev War ended at Yorktown in 1781, but it didn't. There was.significant fighting in SC, and if Marion hadn't kept the British occupied, they'd have been back in VA after 1781. I also learned last Oct that Charleston was the wealthiest city in the colonies during that era. I'd never learned that at school, either.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

I'm sure that you have probably already heard about the Great American State Fair by now, but if you haven't here's a update for you.

The two week fair on the National Mall, which begins June 25th, will bring together all U.S. States in a World Fair style celebration, featuring live entertainment, immersive exhibits, patriotic tributes, innovation showcases, cultural programming, and family friendly attractions.

Most of the artists who were announced earlier this week as performers for the upcoming Great American State Fair have since pulled out of the event, which is one of several planned by Freedom 250, a group established by the Trump administration to help organize the United States’s 250th birthday celebration.

What is Freedom 250?

Two weeks into his second term, President Trump signed an executive order establishing the White House Task Force on Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday.

Since then, there has been a flurry of announcements detailing events that will take place throughout the year to honor the occasion, including the Great American State Fair, a high-speed IndyCar race that will pass by the White House and a UFC mixed martial arts fighting event on the South Lawn.

In December, the Trump administration announced Freedom 250, a “national, non-partisan” group that would help plan the events surrounding the country’s anniversary.

Julia Friedland, a spokesperson for Freedom 250, pushed back against claims by the artists that the fair would be partisan.

“It is inherently nonpolitical. It is a celebration of our country,” Friedland said in an interview with The Hill on Friday. “I don’t think there’s anything partisan about America being around for 250 years.”

Vanilla Ice is one of the singers that will be performing, if you don't know who he is, he was popular when I was a kid. He posted online and said he was “super honored to do this concert with everybody.” ... “It's all about enjoying the great times of 250 years, man, from George Washington until now, and all the presidents and everybody in between,” he said. “This is a magical event.”

I absolutely agree that this event shouldn't be about your individual political affiliation, but about celebrating the history, endurance, and accomplishments of this great country, and I know that my family and I are going to enjoy the festivities as much as we can, and we will be having a 250th anniversary themed party at the diner.