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“We realized that this is a community – our wonderful Greenwich town – which has a long, long history going back to colonial days,” said Bea Crumbine. “It was pointed out to me eleven years ago that nothing was really done to teach the children of Greenwich was this was all about. They know that there are fireworks a day before or the day after. They know that there are picnics and bar-b-ques but the real import of this very old community in which they live was not out there at all. A group of us in town sat down and decided that we would design a ceremony which would raise the Betsy Ross flag over Greenwich and amplify that with a lot of historical understanding. The response was really significant.”
Since the first ceremony over 10 years ago, the Independence Day Celebration has continued to grow each year. Representatives from the First Selectman’s office, the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, the public and private schools in town and Greenwich Police and Fire Departments get involved in the ceremony. Recognizing the community also plays a part.
“We have this amazing gift that the descendents of many of our original founding families and those who were among the first land owners, the first farmers are still around, actually in Greenwich,” said Crumbine. “This year we have a man who is flying in all the way from Hawaii in order to represent his Mead Family. We have now gotten responses from 40 people who are coming to represent their original families which is quite stunning to me.”
When asked why it is important to teach the children and teenagers about not only Independence Day but about the families who helped build the town they live in, Crumbine said, “I think it is because this is real. They know some of these people. They know the street names and the neighborhood names. So they say ‘wow, know I see why it is called Lockwood Avenue. There was a Lockwood on that list of patriots who gave their life in the Revolutionary War.’ It really is a very powerful thing. It becomes tangible.”In order to take it tangible the day of the ceremony, children help raise the Betsy Ross flag, carry the colonial flags of the original thirteen colonies in and read pieces of the Declaration of Independence, sing several songs and lead the audience in a salute of the American flag. Crumbine said “all of this adds a note of honest Greenwich patriotism,” to the ceremony.
“The idea that we continue to discover history and then celebrating it, that is the key piece. And it is not just for the children. It is really for the adults as well who understand that these moments enrich their lives because they understand more about the courage and the stories of the founding families,” said Crumbine.
