July 4, 1976, wasn’t just a birthday for the country; it was a moment in our own lives when everything still felt wide open. Many of us were teenagers or young adults then, standing at the edge of adulthood with the whole world stretching out in front of us. The Bicentennial gave us a reason to look forward, to imagine the next 200 years, and to imagine our own futures too.

Gerald Ford was President, the tall ships were gliding into New York Harbor, and we were making plans to barbeque and party with family and friends. But what many of us remember most is simpler: the heat of the day, the smell of charcoal, the sound of fireworks echoing across neighborhoods, and the music drifting from car radios and open windows. Farrah Fawcett's famous swimsuit poster was everywhere, and I remember trying to imitate her hair (unsuccessfully). The blockbuster movie was "Rocky", a story that brought out feelings of patriotism, because our country's extraordinary rise against the odds was much like Rocky's story, also set in Philadelphia. The film score from that movie is epic. I can still hear the songs from the summer of 1976.

I remember... "Sara Smile", "Love is Alive", "More than a Feeling", "Oh What a Night."

Those songs weren’t just hits; they were the soundtrack to a time when we were young, hopeful, and convinced that life was just beginning. We didn’t know yet where we’d live, who we’d love, what joys or heartbreaks were waiting for us. We only knew that the future felt big.

Now, fifty years later, we look back with a mix of gratitude and tenderness. We’ve lived whole lives since then, our careers, families, losses, surprises, chapters we never could have imagined at 18 or 22. Some of the people we celebrated with that summer are no longer with us. Some friendships faded, others deepened, and some have lasted all the way to today.

But the Bicentennial remains a shared memory — a moment when we were all young together, standing in the same sunlight, hearing the same songs, believing in the same possibilities. It reminds us that even though time has carried us far from that July day, the people we were then are still part of who we are now.

And maybe that’s the quiet gift of remembering 1976: not just the fireworks or the flags, but the reminder that we’ve come a long way, and that we’ve lived a lot of life along the way.

I have three photos from that day, taken at parade in Jefferson township, New Jersey.

A Look Back, July 4, 1976

Revolutionary War Reenactment

Betzi Ross and the Girl Scouts My neighbor was Betzi Ross! After the parade, we had a fun party on Lake Hopatcong with friends and neighbors.

Lake Forest Yacht Club Float Our neighborhood's contribution to the parade

This week we hit another milestone for the experiment we call America. It seems that life itself was much simpler in 1976. We didn't have the convenience of cell phones, microwaves, computers, or Ubers; but what we did have was a shared love of country and a real sense of community that, for me, has somehow been lost. We must never forget the brave men and women who were here at the beginning, in 1776. We owe it to them to keep safe the freedoms and ideas they so wisely bestowed upon us. Happy Fourth of July! And best wishes, Joanne