My Bicentennial Summer

Flags, Boating, and Turning Seven

In the summer of 1976, America celebrated its 200th birthday, and I celebrated my 7th. I asked my mom if she had any family photos from the Bicentennial. She promptly disappeared down a rabbit hole and emerged with these treasures, each one bringing back memories of summer birthdays and simpler times.

I remember that summer vividly…the matching patriotic swimsuits my brother and I wore, the paper and felt American flags we made at my birthday party, afternoons boating on Lake George with my aunt, uncle, and “Grandma Frisk”, and even the Christmas card my mom designed to commemorate the Bicentennial year.

As America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence today, I can’t help but reflect on my own family’s journey and the sacrifices my ancestors made so that we could call this country home.

My family is relatively new to America. My father arrived in 1950 at the age of 12. My maternal grandmother, Lydia, arrived in 1922, followed by my grandfather, Vladimir, in 1923. Other family members came in the years that followed, each seeking the same thing: the opportunity to build a new life.

Looking at these photographs from 1976, I’m reminded that while we celebrated 200 years of our nation’s history, my family’s American story was only just beginning. These snapshots preserve more than a childhood birthday; they capture the early chapters of our family’s life in the country that gave them a new beginning

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