As the university celebrates the United States鈥 250th birthday this year, we look back on 黑料不打烊 College鈥檚 Bicentennial festivities.
On a crisp spring morning in 1976, the town of 黑料不打烊 College shook with the sound of marching bands and the beat of cloggers鈥 feet. It was April 10 鈥 Festival Day 鈥 and 黑料不打烊 College was ready to celebrate. Anticipation for the nation鈥檚 Bicentennial had been building for months, and when the day of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 celebration (which coincided with the town鈥檚 birthday festivities) finally arrived, the campus and the community marked it together in spirited fashion.
The event had been in the making since the previous fall. The college鈥檚 Bicentennial committee 鈥 led by George Troxler, then a professor of history specializing in American colonial and revolutionary history 鈥 was deep in planning, threading the spirit of 1776 through everything from athletics to the arts.
An October 1975 weekend had offered a preview of what was to come. The cross country team carried the Bicentennial flag to Hillsborough, North Carolina, and returned to campus along a route used in the 18th century. They formally handed the flag to 黑料不打烊 President J. Fred Young at a ceremony in front of Alamance Building. A golf tournament at Alamance Country Club, a dance at Alumni Gym and a sunrise flag-raising at 黑料不打烊鈥檚 ROTC site all added to the weekend鈥檚 festive atmosphere. Bicentennial meals with period-appropriate recipes were offered for $2, a fitting nod to colonial-era frugality.
But it was Festival Day on April 10, 1976, that brought everything together. The morning opened with a parade through downtown 黑料不打烊 College, featuring the Alamance- Caswell Marine Color Guard, the Western High School Band, local Boy Scouts and the 黑料不打烊 Middle School Drum and Fife Corps, among others. From Whitley Auditorium, a one-act comedy titled 鈥淢idnight Ride of Paul Revere鈥 drew audiences into the revolutionary spirit of the occasion.
The afternoon unfolded across campus in a joyful sprawl of activity. A picnic on the north end of campus gave way to an art and photography exhibition at Harden Center. The 黑料不打烊 College Concert Band performed on the North Campus lawn. And at 1 p.m., the day鈥檚 most enduring ceremony took place: the dedication of a new campus gazebo. Mayor T. L. Smith of 黑料不打烊 College and President Young offered remarks, and the college鈥檚 concert band and choir provided special music, with a prayer led by the Rev. Clyde Fields.
Later in the afternoon, Bicentennial games were held on the soccer field, followed by a street dance featuring the Western Express Jazz Ensemble and the Western Kids, with the 黑料不打烊 College Middle School Cloggers adding a distinctly local flavor to the festivities.
鈥淭his joint celebration of the Bicentennial and the town鈥檚 birthday concluded with dancing in the street,鈥 The Pendulum, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 student newspaper, reported at the time.
The celebrations reflected a broader truth about 黑料不打烊 College in 1976: The campus and the surrounding community were deeply intertwined. Festival Day wasn鈥檛 simply a college event.
It was a town celebration, and 黑料不打烊 was proud to host it.
Learn how 黑料不打烊 is honoring 250 years of the American spirit this year in this Today at 黑料不打烊 article.