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Remembering the Bicentennial on This Semiquincentennial

I was just a kid when our country celebrated its bicentennial—a few years older than my oldest grandchildren are now. This means they’ll be almost my current age when our country celebrates its tricentennial. I wonder if they’ll look back on today’s semiquincentennial (half of five hundred years) as something magical in the same way I look back on the bicentennial.

I don’t remember how my family celebrated that year. I’m sure there were fireworks, whether we drove twenty minutes to watch them over Disneyland or in the other direction to watch them at the beach. I do remember the bicentennial quarters and two-dollar bills; I still have a few of each, keepsakes more than currency.

But our class field trip to Disneyland is my stand-out memory. In honor of the bicentennial, the amusement park invited elementary school students from all over Orange County to spend a school day at Disneyland. This was before Disneyland offered unlimited access to rides with admission. Guests purchased ticket books. If they wanted to ride more rides, they had to purchase more ticket books. If they had tickets left over when they went home, they could save them for their next visit. My dad stored ours in the valet on his dresser, but we never had any E tickets left over. E tickets were for the most exciting rides.

If I remember correctly, Disneyland had special ticket books printed for the field trip event. They gave students access to eleven attractions, I think, that Disneyland or maybe the school administrators or individual teachers deemed historical and educational. We also witnessed America on Parade, a spectacle created for the bicentennial celebration.

Upon arrival, our class was divided into groups of five or six, each group assigned to a chaperone. My mom led our group from attraction to attraction. I remember watching Mr. Lincoln speak, paddling a canoe to Tom Sawyer’s Island, riding the Mark Twain, and watching America Sings, an attraction that no longer exists. I’m not 100% certain that the canoe was part of that field trip, though I think it was. (I practically grew up at Disneyland, so one visit blurs into another.)

I can’t remember what other rides were included in the field trip ticket book, but I do remember my classmates, mom, and I enjoyed the best school day ever thanks to our country’s big birthday. Should my grandchildren be privileged to enjoy the tricentennial as I am privileged to enjoy this semiquincentennial, and I pray they will be, I wonder what memories of today will stand out in their minds. May their memories be magical, too.

* * *

Photo by Winston Chen on Unsplash

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