As the United States approaches its semiquincentennial, some local communities are celebrating –– but they’re also taking stock.
Part 2 of a two-part series looks at local considerations as the United States hits 250-year benchmark.
In late June, a group of about 25 assembled in the lecture room on the ground floor of the Bellingham Public Library around four tables, each devoted to a different book about the history of what we now call the United States of America. The titles dealt with Indigenous histories and slavery, but also espionage and a secret plot to kill George Washington.
Suzanne Carlson-Prandini, who started the Bellingham Reads program in 2007, said this is the first time she’s selected more than one book for the same month. But when it comes to recognizing the United States’ semiquincentennial, how could you tell just one story?
July 4, 2026 will mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence and Americans’ feelings about the current state of the nation are, to put it mildly, mixed. A recent poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs found that about 40% of U.S. adults feel “proud” of the anniversary while about 30% feel “excited.” Others report feeling “conflicted” or “indifferent.” In a Gallup poll, nearly 80% said the signers of the Declaration would be disappointed by how the United States has turned out.
The America250 Commission –– established by Congress in 2016 –– has been charged with “celebrating and commemorating” the nation’s birthday.
Each state also has its own 250 Commission. Here in Washington, commemorations center around a June 14 day of service, Independence Day, a Museum Day on Aug. 8, and a Day of Civic Engagement on Sept. 17. In the state’s northwest corner, communities are marking the semiquincentennial with everything from spirited celebration to thoughtful –– and at times emotional –– reflection.
Reflections in Bellingham
Issues of the Bellingham Herald from 1976 recount a cornucopia of events to mark the United States’ 200th anniversary: a rally at Nooksack High School, an air show, a musical and a yearlong wagon train that began in Blaine and ended in Philadelphia –– to name a few. The only event not taking place, wrote reporter Sue Oliver Waldburger, was “a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party in Bellingham Bay.”
Bellingham resident Kevin Allen-Schmid was a high school junior in Idaho at the time and recalls the excitement surrounding the bicentennial.
“At that point I was playing the sousaphone in the marching band, and when we did the parade I would swing it around and blow it loud,” he said. “I thought it was awesome.”
Now retired from his role as choir director at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, Allen-Schmid maintains his excitement for community music, but he no longer feels what he describes as a kind of “blind patriotism” that characterized those celebrations 50 years ago.
Allen-Schmid was one of the organizers of “An American Choral Retrospective” which took place on June 27 at the Fellowship. When putting together the program he said he “avoided the word (celebration) entirely.”
“I ––and so many in this community of the Unitarian Fellowship where I belong –– find it really hard to celebrate,” he said. “We don’t feel like celebrating. We feel like despairing and grieving over the tragic turmoil of American affairs.”
When it comes to rooting for the U.S. Men’s team in the World Cup, he said, many of his friends feel ambivalent.
The idea for the retrospective, said Allen-Schmid, was “asking people to just let the songs speak to them directly and find their own feelings and meaning in it as a community.”
“Some of the songs deal with immigrants settling in America, with pioneers. Some of them explore the experiences of people of color,” he said. One song, arranged by Allen-Schmid, takes words attributed to Chief Seattle as its lyrics. As attendees reflected on the state of the country, more than a few tears were shed.
A school board resolution in Lynden
On May 14, Lynden School Board member Nick Sawka introduced a resolution to commemorate America’s 250th birthday.
The first draft of the resolution aimed to “plant the seeds of patriotism” among students and help them “appreciate America’s exceptionalism.” It encouraged educators to create learning opportunities related to the anniversary and also called for the “prominent display of the Pledge of Allegiance” in the high school gym.
The resolution was met with mixed reactions amongst board members who worried about its ideological bent. Some wondered whether it was the role of the board to pass any resolutions not strictly tied to student outcomes.
This isn’t the first time such questions have been raised in Lynden. A proposed resolution to establish “Charlie Kirk Day” was tabled by the board last fall. But when board member Danny Martinez said he thought the resolution amounted to “political theater,” Sawka responded that there was “nothing political about it.”
On that point, the board seemed to reach an impasse, with some likening the resolution to the “virtue signaling” that they perceive amongst progressives, while Sawka and fellow board member Khush Brar emphasized the importance of patriotism.
As an immigrant, Brar said she said she’s thankful for the United States and the safety and freedoms it has afforded her.
“For me, you have a moral obligation to honor those who have sacrificed for the existence of this nation,” she told the board.
As for whether a resolution like this could effectively “spark patriotism” a student board member was doubtful.
“In the high school I’d say at least 50% of the kids in my first period class don’t stand for the pledge,” she said.
At the following meeting two weeks later, the board voted to pass an amended version of the resolution. The new version is more open-ended, and includes language to recognize the sacrifices of “veterans” and “immigrants.” It calls for community input on ideas for commemoration.
The district now plans to display the last sentence of the Declaration of Independence in every school library and a message on the wall of the high school gym that reads: “Honor The Past, Inspire The Present, Prepare For The Future.”
While critical reflection about America’s past and present can happen at any time, Sawka sees the semiquincentennial as a time for celebration. He called the resolution “a simple gesture that says: America, we see you, and at 250, you don’t look too bad.”
In Skagit, a reminder that democracy is for everyone
On June 26, at Recovery Cafe Skagit, Jane Bilders sat behind a folding table with copies of pocket constitutions in English and Spanish, and QR codes for voter registration. Red and blue balloons bobbed near the ceiling while people gathered to munch on hot dogs and hamburgers, or play a game of corn hole in the parking lot. After lunch, the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to America before cutting a red, white and blue cake.
Spearheaded by Skagit’s League of Women Voters, the “America 250 Birthday Bash” doubled as a resource fair for Recovery Cafe, which supports people experiencing homelessness, addiction or mental health struggles. Participants included Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital, DSHS and Skagit Clubhouse, among other groups.
This isn’t the first time the nonprofit has collaborated with the League of Women Voters.
“We’re always trying to get people to be more engaged in their local government,” said Shawn Howard, Recovery Cafe’s executive director. “I think a lot of people, especially in recovery or struggling with mental health or homelessness, feel like politics is for other people. The government is for other people.”
Builders, a retired teacher and school counsellor, is now president of Skagit’s League of Women Voters. When it comes to recognizing the semiquincentennial, she’s zeroing in on local civic involvement.
In regards to national politics, Bilders says she knows people who have lost hope.
“And what I’d say to them is to focus on their local communities. That’s where change happens.”
Celebrations on San Juan
Friday Harbor’s Fourth of July parade has been recognized as one of the top 10 small-town Independence Day celebrations in the U.S., residents of the town said.
Still, Mayor Evan Perrollaz said that when the town began discussions about celebrating the semiquincentennial, there was some uncertainty about how the community would respond
“You’re having pretty frequent protests at the courthouse in Friday Harbor. There’s a really strong undercurrent of frustration and anger and fear, not only in our community but obviously across the country,” he said. “As a small town –– as a tiny town –– do we want to enter that fray?”
Ultimately, Perrollaz said, the response was positive. On April 2, he signed a proclamation recognizing the semiquincentennial and planning to collaborate with community partners for “commemorative activities.”
Among those partners is the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. They’re engaged in various service and commemorative projects this year, including restoring Friday Harbor’s World War I monument and, in collaboration with the local historical museum, planning an exhibit of revolutionary flags. Nancy Miller, the chapter’s Regent, said that the Daughters will also be participating in the parade for the first time in 12 years.
Miller, a former critical care nurse, says she joined the Daughters of the American Revolution to “acknowledge that I had ancestors that really struggled.”
Members are required to prove they are descendants of an American patriot, someone who helped the revolutionary cause. When Miller researched her own ancestors, she found she was related to a man who fought for eight years in the Revolutionary War. He later died destitute, she said.
Despite a history of racism –– the organization didn’t officially bar racial discrimination until the 1980s –– the Daughters of the American Revolution now works to identify “forgotten patriots,” including Black and Indigenous individuals who advanced the revolutionary cause.
Miller is aware of that history. She also noted that it’s important to reflect on how the United States as a whole hasn’t lived up to the ideals of equality set forth in the Declaration. Still, she maintains hope by trying to have a positive impact locally.
“I can make a difference where I am, and that is my goal in life. Whether I did it at the bedside as a critical care nurse (or) whether I’m doing it as the regent of the daughters of the American Revolution.”
“This is a good country,” she added. “How can we make it better?”
As for the protesters outside the courthouse, a number of them will also be participating in the parade on the fourth, in a float organized by Indivisible San Juan Island.
The float, said Tamela Bressler, an organizer with Indivisible, takes the form of a block party. They’re calling it “Taking Back the Streets.”
Bresler –– a retired psychologist who served 10 years of active duty in the Air Force –– doesn’t hesitate to call herself patriotic. She’s attended several protests in Friday Harbor, including memorials for Alex Pretti and Renee Good, plus an educational event about the Constitution. As the fourth approaches, she sees celebration as its own form of resistance.
“250 years is a big deal. We need to celebrate that. And we need to remember what we stand for and continue to fight for that.”
––By Christy Carley