Does any Dear Reader age sixty or older remember when America celebrated its Bicentennial in 1976?
Is it just me, or do you feel as I do that there is not anywhere near the level of enthusiasm for the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States?
An internet search will show that in 1976 there were many events to celebrate America’s freedom. One thing that I remember is a series of brief commercials that told what happened in American history “200 years ago today . . .” According to the online article “50 Years Ago, America Celebrated the Bicentennial of the United States” in The Orange County Register, there were 912 of the “Bicentennial Minutes” that aired from July 4, 1974 to December 31, 1976. (Source: https://www.ocregister.com/2026/01/21/50-years-ago-america-celebrated-t… Retrieved May 27, 2026). The Bicentennial Minutes were narrated by a variety of famous celebrities with patriotic music (such as “Yankee Doodle” and “Chester”) playing softly in the background. If these first of these what we might now call a form of “info-mercial” aired two full years before the actual Bicentennial celebration, think how far in advance the planning and production of those Bicentennial Minutes began.
America planned for perhaps the better part of a decade to celebrate America’s 200th birthday. I haven’t recently seen a great deal of evidence that many people are as enthused about our heritage now as in the days of my childhood.
I take into consideration that on July 4, 1976 I was four days shy of turning eleven. I remember life still being new, each day full of opportunity to learn and experience something new. Life was still new and carefree. I was almost at the end of my childhood years, just before heightened reality and temptations of teenage years began to smoke the globe of the oil lamp of life.
When I watched those Bicentennial Moments, I could see in my mind exactly what the narrators were relating, just as if I were there. It was a time when I still viewed historical figures and the Founding Fathers were viewed almost as the Greeks viewed their many gods—powerful, pure, noble of character, faultless, flawless.
It was the time before later history courses and books related that George Washington probably never chopped down a cherry tree, Thomas Jefferson fathered illegitimate children, and many Lincoln stories were possibly myths concocted after his death to make him a martyr. It was before I was taught of many scandals and corrupt acts that occurred as America pushed its way to its Manifest Destiny of spreading from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans, from the Trail of Tears to Teapot Dome.
It was also a time before I knew and understood what my parents and grandparents endured so that I could be born in a land of the free and home of the brave.
My great-great-grandparents lived and possibly fought during the Civil War. My great-grandparents raised their families and my uncles served during World War I. My grandparents raised their families during the Great Depression. My parents endured the hardships and my oldest half-brother Fred served during World War II. My half-brothers and -sisters lived and saw their friends go to war in Korea or Vietnam. During my childhood was the energy crisis of the 1970s, and Watergate.
Many of the present American population were born in and after the 1970s. Many are too young to even remember the Bicentennial Celebration of 1976. Most of their ancestors who could relate the struggles of their parts of keeping America alive for 200 years, who lived before retirement accounts or federal aid such as Social Security, have long passed. Many of the current American population have not benefitted from hearing the stories of our great American heritage from those who helped preserve it.
Thank God I had a grandfather who raised his family during the Great Depression by working at menial jobs for a quarter a day. Thank God I got to meet and know him. Thank God for a mother who told me more about him than he would tell about himself. Thank God for the teachers I had, many who began teaching during the hard times of the Great Depression and World War II. They knew and passed on great American values through their teaching. They taught us the work ethic and the folly of waste.
Thank God for the church in which I was raised. She began in the pre-Civil War year of 1942, and is still beacon of an eternity with no more war, no more “pinching” times.
Thank God for those of us, Dear Readers, who are able to remember the value of the history of our great nation. May we each do our part to see that the blessings of liberty are passed on to a new generation. Possibly the Tricentennial in 2076 will outshine that of the Bicentennial of 1976 we remember so well.

ANSWER TO QUESTION OF THE WEEK # 89
They told me running would help my ability to make decisions. What decision did I make while taking my first run? (ANSWER: I decided to never run again.)

QUESTION OF THE WEEK # 90
What bargain did Adlai Stevenson offer his opponents in his 1952 campaign? (See the next “Mincey’s Musings” in historicunioncounty.com for the answer.

WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE IN AMERICA IN 1976?
(Source: https://thosewerethedays.substack.com/p/the-year-1976-fun-facts-trivia-…
Retrieved May 27, 2026)

1. In 1976, Gerald Ford was the president of the United States, and Nelson Rockefeller was the nation’s vice president.
2. The U.S. unemployment rate was 7.8% at year-end, the nation’s inflation rate was 5.76%, and the average retail price for a gallon of gas was 59 cents.
3. The average household income was $16,000, and the cost of a new home was about $43,000.
4. At the grocery store, a gallon of milk cost $1.68, eggs were 97 cents a dozen, and Eight O’Clock Coffee was $1.69 for a one-pound bag. Chicken breasts were 89 cents a pound, a one-pound package of Blue Bonnet margarine cost 39 cents, and three 20-ounce loaves of white bread were $1.00.
5. The following American companies and brands were launched in 1976: 1-800-Flowers, Acer, Inc., Genentech, HomeGoods, Kate Spade & Company, MetLife Foundation, Price Club, St. Jude Medical, T.J. Maxx, Ticketmaster, and United Drugs.
6. On January 1, the Liberty Bell was moved to a new home behind Independence Hall in Center City Philadelphia.
7. On January 15, Sara Jane Moore was sentenced to life in prison for her assassination attempt on President Gerald Ford.
8. From February 4 to February 15, the 1976 Winter Olympics were held in Innsbruck, Austria. A total of 37 countries and 1,123 athletes participated in the 37 sporting events.
9. On February 28, Natalie Cole became the first African American woman to receive a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
10. On March 26, Queen Elizabeth II sent out the first royal email on a network called ARPANET, which was a precursor to the Internet as we know it today.
11. At the 48th Academy Awards on March 29, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest won an Oscar for Best Picture, and Miloš Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) won an Academy Award for Best Director. Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) won an Oscar for Best Actor, and Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) won an Academy Award for Best Actress.
12. On April 1, Conrail was formed by the U.S. government to help save seven bankrupt railroads located in the East and Midwest. The New York Times reports that “Conrail, with $2.1 billion of federal money for plant and equipment rehabilitation, now has the responsibility for handling about one‐fourth of the nation’s railroad freight, and it has a near monopoly on railroad movements in the industrialized Northeast.”
13. On April 1, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer when they launched the Apple 1, “a desktop computer that came as a single motherboard, pre-assembled, and unlike other personal computers of that era.” ThoughtCo.com adds that Jobs and Wozniak “wanted to develop the world’s first user-friendly personal computer. Their work ended up revolutionizing the computer industry and changing the face of consumer technology. Along with tech giants like Microsoft and IBM, Apple helped make computers part of everyday life, ushering in the Digital Revolution and the Information Age.”
14. On April 13, the U.S. Treasury reintroduced the $2.00 bill. Withdrawn from circulation a decade earlier because of “public indifference,” the 1976 series had a new design on the back that featured John Trumbull’s painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Today, the $2.00 bill makes up about 1% of all U.S. bills in circulation.
15. At the 28th Primetime Emmy Awards on May 17, The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and Police Story (NBC) won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.
16. On June 19, NASA’s Viking 1 Lander spacecraft arrived safely on Mars. Space.com explains that “Viking 1 was the first American spacecraft to touch the surface of Mars and the first spacecraft ever to remain there for the long term. It followed a series of short-lived Soviet probes that either landed or crashed into the surface in the decade before.”
17. In July, the United States celebrated the Bicentennial. DustyOldThing.com tells us that “The celebration itself included several events, such as a giant fireworks display in Washington, D.C., that was nationally televised. There were also nautical parades in which an international fleet of large, tall-masted sailing ships gathered in New York City and in Boston.” In Philadelphia, “a ceremony on Independence Mall featured President Gerald Ford, Pennsylvania Governor Milton Shapp, and Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo, with actor Charlton Heston as the master of ceremonies. Following the ceremony, a five-hour parade featured floats from every state and 40,000 marchers.”
18. As part of the bicentennial celebration, George Washington was posthumously promoted to the rank of six-star general. In addition, all quarters minted in 1976 were dated as 1776-1976.
19. In July, Legionnaires’ disease sickened 149 American Legion delegates in Philadelphia.
20. From July 17 to August 1, the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, the first Canadian city to host the games. A total of 92 countries and 6,084 athletes participated in the 198 sporting events.
21. On September 17, NASA publicly unveiled its first space shuttle, the Enterprise, during a ceremony in Palmdale, California.
22. On October 17, the coldest World Series game in history took place at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, between the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Yankees. The temperature at the time was 39°F.
23. On November 2, Democrat Jimmy Carter was elected as the 39th president of the United States. He defeated incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford and was the first U.S. president from the Deep South since the Civil War. Carter carried 23 states and the District of Columbia. He won 50.1% of the popular vote and 297 electoral votes.
24. On November 7, Gone with the Wind was shown on television for the first time and attracted 65% of America’s viewing audience.
25. On November 8, Iceland and the United Kingdom came to an agreement over fishing rights in the North Atlantic, thus ending a series of conflicts known as the “Cod Wars.”
26. In 1976, Red Dye No. 2, a food coloring used in everything from ice cream to makeup, was pulled from the marketplace after Soviet scientists claimed that there was a potential link between the dye and cancer. Because of the ban, red M&Ms disappeared from 1976 to 1987.
27. Here are some of McDonald’s menu prices from 1976: Big Mac (75 cents), Quarter Pounder (70 cents), Quarter Pounder with Cheese (75 cents), Filet-O-Fish (65 cents), Hamburger (30 cents), Cheeseburger (40 cents), Medium French Fries (45 cents), Hot Apple Pie (45 cents), Medium Strawberry and Chocolate Shakes (45 cents), and Medium Soft Drinks (30 cents).
28. In 1976, Perrier bottled water was introduced in the United States.
29. The inkjet printer was invented.
30. American billionaire Howard Hughes died at the age of 70.
31. Frontier Airlines hired Emily Howell Warner, America’s first female pilot.
32. The year’s most popular song was Tonight’s The Night by Rod Stewart.
33. The Hotel California album was released by the Eagles and was one of the best-selling albums of all time. (Please note that record albums came before CDs.)
34. In 1956, NBC unveiled its famous peacock logo that featured a peacock “with brightly colored plumage in a number of shades.” However, from 1976 to 1979, NBC replaced its peacock logo with an abstract N.
35. Here are some sports facts for the year: The Pittsburgh Steelers were the Super Bowl champs, the Cincinnati Reds won the World Series, and the Montreal Canadiens clinched the Stanley Cup. In addition, Hank Aaron hit his 755th and final home run on July 20.
36. In 1976 as well, the words “athleisure,” “bicycle shorts,” “body piercing,” “bull rush,” “class act,” “couch potato,” “digital camera,” “Ebola virus,” “Ethernet,” “exercise bicycle,” “IPO,” “killer bee,” “microcassette,” “point person,” “restless legs syndrome,” “sell off,” “sell-off,” “smart-mouthed,” “spider vein,” and “wannabe” all appeared in print for the first time.