Celebrating Revolutionary history in our own backyard
SCHOHARIE — As the OMOTM made their way to the Your Way Café in Schoharie on June 29 for our usual Tuesday morning breakfast, it occurred to me that we OFs are such creatures of habit that, when we are called by St. Peter, we will probably stop by the proper diner/café for that week and order breakfast on our way up to say hello to St. Peter!
But today was different, because in a couple of days our nation will come together and celebrate its birthday.
Exactly 248 years ago, on this date, July 2, 1776 the Second Continental Congress unanimously approved the Declaration of Independence to separate from England.
So, as the OMOTM gathered at the Your Way Café in Schoharie on a bright, sunshiny morning, we were reminded of the most famous line contained in the preamble to one of the most sacred documents of our nation: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
Two days later, on the 4th of July, this declaration was unanimously adopted, dated the 4th of July, printed, and given out to the public. That is why we celebrate on the 4th of July because that is when it was adopted, dated, printed and handed out.
As I moved around the room, I discovered over half the OMOTM who were eating breakfast were present at those meetings in 1776 and voted unanimously to adopt the Declaration of Independence. Kidding aside, the tables would grow quiet as we considered the courage of these men from the 13 colonies who gathered in Philadelphia and spoke with one unanimous voice.
These were serious men, some of whom traveled weeks on horseback to reach Philadelphia at the expense of their farms and businesses to consider this decision. They knew the consequences if they failed in their bid to be free.
We, who live right here in the Hilltowns, live within 50 miles or so of so much history of the Revolutionary War it is nearly overwhelming to try to consider it all.
Right here in Schoharie is what we call the Old Stone Fort, which was attacked by the British with the aid of Mohawk Indians who were led by their famous chief, Joseph Bryant.
Right up the road, the Battle of Saratoga, considered to be the turning point of the revolution; Fort Ticonderoga; the battles on Lake George and Lake Champlain (the birthplace of the United States Navy); West Point and Benedict Arnold; G. Washington, B. Franklin, A. Hamilton, and on and on.
Not only is this our birthday, but this area is an important part of the nation’s birth. Many of the OMOTM of today can easily trace their family heritage back to the Revolutionary War era and I have no doubt they could show us headstones and markers with the dates to prove it.
Two-hundred-and-forty-eight years later, here we are. Free.
There are numerous celebrations of the United States Independence Day abroad such as in Denmark, Norway, and even in Sidney, Australia.
Unlike today where there is considerable money being spent on the 4th, it used to be considered unpatriotic for businesses to be open for business on the 4th of July.
Do you know that there have been 27 different versions of the official United States flag from 1777 to 1960? Twenty-five of those changes were made only to the number of stars added when new states were admitted to the union. The last two are Alaska in January of 1959, and number 50 is Hawaii — added in August of 1959.
The Second Scribe thanks Wikipedia for providing me with the accuracy of information of dates and facts for the preceding paragraphs. As for the remainder of this column there are absolutely no guarantees about anything except possibly the final paragraph.
Odds and ends
At one of the tables, artificial intelligence was being discussed and that it wouldn’t be long before your Second Scribe would no longer be necessary.
Somebody would say, “AI, write the column about the OMOTM,” and three seconds later the printer would print it out. Not really a comforting discussion.
The talk moved on to a local brewery in Schoharie called Wayward Lane Brewing. The OF that brought up the topic says it is a cool place to go and the beer is outstanding. He has been there several times and, being that his heritage is Irish, it was generally accepted that his recommendation should be taken seriously.
Our annual OMOTM picnic held at Warner Lake was announced. It will be at the usual location on Warner Lake. Details to follow.
We also had a couple of vintage automobiles driven by a couple of vintage OFs, one a little more vintage than the other. The cars I mean, certainly not the OFs.
One car was a 1940 Ford sedan and the other, a lot younger, was a 1957 Ford Ranchero. It is absolutely amazing how these cars can attract a crowd.
All we needed was either the Plymouth Silver King farm tractor, and/or the Cushman motor scooter, both 1930s vintage that were mentioned in last week’s column, and we could have charged admission.
The OMOTM present at the Your Way Café for breakfast, including those who voted for the Declaration of Independence in 1776, were: Harold Guest, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Joe Rack, Ed Goff, Kevin McDonald, Frank A. Fuss, Peter T. Parisi, Ted Feurer, Wayne Gaul, Jake Lederman, Pete Whitbeck, George Washburn, Josh Buck, guest of Wm Lichliter, Duncan Bellinger, Jake Herzog, Warren Willsey, Roland Tozer, Marty Herzog, Jack Norray, Dick Dexter, Wally Guest, Pastor Jay Francis, Gerry Cross, JohnWilliams, Lou Schenck, Herb Bahrmann, Elwood Vanderbilt, Bob Donnelly, Dave Hodgetts, John Dab, Paul Guiton, and me.