By Chéye Roberson
Sentinel Correspondent
To teach children about the historical significance behind the holiday filled with fireworks and barbeques, the Betsy Ross flag was raised in a ceremony outside Town Hall on the 4th of July.
“We began this 12 years ago, when it was pointed out that children didn’t really know much about the revolutionary war,” said Bea Crumbine, the ambassador-at-large for the town of Greenwich and the lead organizer of the event. “They have a sense that it’s all about barbeques, picnics, and fireworks.”
Members of the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich’s Honor Guard raised the flag, which has a circle of stars representing the original 13 states.
After the Sound Beach Community Band performed the trumpet call, Crumbine welcomed everyone with an introduction of the dignitaries in attendance. There was a message from the town of Greenwich given by Selectman John Tonerm and the Greenwich Boys Scouts presented the individual 13 colonial flags.
Stefanie Kies and the Children of the American Revolution sang the national anthem and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Re-enactor Lucy Van Atta stepped into the role of Greenwich historical figure Sarah Bush. Her re-enactment described what life was like for a woman as the Revolutionary War in Greenwich. She had to raise several children and run her husband’s business after she was widowed. Her second husband, David Bush, was charged with conspiring with the British by his fellow Colonists and thrown into prison (he was later acquitted for lack of proof).
Greenwich Boy Scouts and Greenwich Girl Scouts read excerpts from the Declaration of Independence. Thirty-eight students were presented with Good Citizen Awards.
“We choose one child from each school division in Greenwich both public and private,” said Crumbine.
Ed Dadakis, the master of ceremonies, said he appreciated witnessing the remembrance of contributions from the past meeting the contributors to the future.
“I liked the juxtaposition of the introduction to the ancestors of the who fought in the war and the introduction of the young people who are going to be our leaders in the future,” Dadakis said. “You can be confident that the future will be bright as well.”
Crumbine asked the descendants of the early settlers of Greenwich to remain standing, and then asked all other descendants of those who fought in the Revolutionary War to stand. Frederick Floyd Nagle, past president of the Captain Matthew Mead Branch No. 11, CTSSAR, and director of the Yale Veterans’ Association, then read the names of those Greenwich residents who gave their lives in the war:
Those names were Joseph Banks, Timothy Lockwood, Jr., Daniel Carter, Ebson Mead, Samuel Close, Solomon Mead, Daniel Darrow, Sylvanus Mead, Thomas Hitchcock, Sr., Zabid Palmer, Nathaniel Jessup, Benjamin Reynolds, Samuel Knapp, Jonathan Reynolds, Stephan Knapp and John Rundle.
Greenwich police then led the crowd in a moment of silence and a 21-gun salute. The Sound Beach Community Band played taps, with trumpeters Barry Zhou and Joseph De Rocco, and Ed Dadakis gave his closing comments.
After the hourlong celebration, everyone was invited inside Town Hall for birthday cake.
