Most of you reading this are not local to me although I know some of you are. I still think that it’s worth sharing about the kick off of our town’s bicentennial celebration that we had the other night, so I’m sharing the speech that I gave. I hope you’ll indulge me by reading it!

Hello and thank you for inviting me to share a few words this evening. I have been looking forward to East Bridgewater’s Bicentennial for quite some time and I’m very excited to be a part of this wonderful kick off to a full year of celebrating our town’s longevity.

I think part of the reason I feel a strong connection to our bicentennial is related to my experiences during the bicentennial of the American Revolution. I was 10 years old in 1975 when we started to 200 years of American independence. My mother, in particular, was extremely excited about all things bicentennial and she made it a mission for our family to participate as much as possible and visit as many local historic sites as we could. We walked the Freedom Trail, we visited the John Quincy Adams museum, we toured the Tall Ships in the Boston Harbor, we even got up in the wee hours of the morning on Patriot’s Day to travel to Concord for the commemoration of the 200^th anniversary of the shot heard round the world. All of this made a lasting impression on me and ignited my love of history and honoring that history whenever possible.

The Bicentennial Committee has been meeting diligently and working hard for well over a year to plan programs and events that will have a wide range of appeal. There are things happening all year long, but I want to take a moment to highlight the programs that the library is offering. A Town inspired scavenger hunt is currently underway and will go until January 21^st. All you need to do is visit the library for clues and then search for various town and library related people, places, and things. I’m told there are prizes. On January 21^st, the library is sponsoring a program titled HomeTown History: The Bridgewaters. This presentation by the Old Colony History Museum will explore the history of the Bridgewaters. Also at the library this month will be a program with New England Legends Jeff Belanger. This event will be on January 30^th at 6:30 pm and will feature a tour of haunts, monsters, aliens and weird history related to our region and it’s not to be missed.

Those are just a few of the wonderful events planned to encourage you to learn more about how our town came to be. I invite you to take advantage of these programs and more, get yourself some East Bridgewater swag and wear it proudly, and build relationships with others in our community while doing so.

In closing, I want to thank the members of the Bicentennial Committee, including the Co-Chairs, Dave Sheedy, my colleague on the Board of Selectmen, and Dale Julius, my colleague in life. These fine folks have planned a yearlong party for all of us, East Bridgewater, and it’s going to be epic.

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