Notes from my Knapsack 7-17-2025
Jeff Gill
Just to belabor the obvious
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Jeff Gill
Just to belabor the obvious
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With summer in full swing, and the Fourth of July behind us, it's worth a glance on down the road… to the summer of 2026.
If you've been at almost any public event in the last month or two, you've probably picked up on the fact that we have some big events coming in celebration of 250 years since 1776, and that significant Fourth of July from which our subsequent celebrations spring.
America 250-Ohio and its state executive director Todd Kleismit have been around Licking County and Granville helping us get ready; our friends in the Daughters as well as the Sons of the American Revolution are excited and full of big plans themselves.
Obviously, the focal point of all these "America 250" plans is July 4, 2026. In Granville, Ohio if you ask "will there be anything going on for the Fourth of July?" the answer is "you have got to be kidding me." Of course there is: Granville's Fourth of July Celebration, an annual street fair, fireworks, and parade which Granville Kiwanis have been presenting since 1964.
My point here is not just to toot the horn of Granville Kiwanis: for one thing, I'm a member. It would be unseemly.
However, I've been around the discussions for the America 250-Ohio planning enough to know that the question in many parts of the state, or even elsewhere for Licking County, is "who will help us put on a big deal for 250 years of American independence?" Not everywhere is there a long tradition of a major series of events for the Fourth of July. In Granville, it's become easy to sort of take it for granted.
Trust me, there's gonna be a big event in Granville for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Simply because there's always a big event for the Fourth of July! We won't hold back in 2026. The county effort to participate in America 250-Ohio means there will be even more than usual going on, all through the year, which will help make July 4, 2026 even more special.
This just makes me want even more to point out how fortunate we are in Granville to have the history and traditions around the Fourth of July which make it an event people come from long distances to experience along with us. In the summer of 1806 when Granville was just getting started, the early records indicate "young America" observed the Fourth by using gunpowder to blow up stumps, which shows some things never change. Speeches were made, and festivities have been observed in every year since. It's just had a particular shape and form since 1964.
As a participant in the effort, though, I want to note here how not every town or community can pull this kind of program off. The banner we used to put up, and the tagline we still have, is a laconic "Just Another Granville Kiwanis 4th of July Celebration." As in "yeah, we did it before, and we'll do it again." With Granville Rotary helming the Firecracker Five, and the Granville Arts Boosters committing violence against lemon halves, and the GHS Football team tending the trash and hoisting bleacher sections, and our Marching Blue Aces and 4-H Band, plus the various Scouting units doing their parts… it is a complex web of interlocking mutually supportive efforts which take both leadership and participation to pull off.
Or as is often said: the planning for 2026 is already started. And it's gonna be great!
Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; he's proud to be a Kiwanian, especially around the Fourth. Tell him what you want to see happen in 2026 at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack77 on Threads or Bluesky.
If you've been at almost any public event in the last month or two, you've probably picked up on the fact that we have some big events coming in celebration of 250 years since 1776, and that significant Fourth of July from which our subsequent celebrations spring.
America 250-Ohio and its state executive director Todd Kleismit have been around Licking County and Granville helping us get ready; our friends in the Daughters as well as the Sons of the American Revolution are excited and full of big plans themselves.
Obviously, the focal point of all these "America 250" plans is July 4, 2026. In Granville, Ohio if you ask "will there be anything going on for the Fourth of July?" the answer is "you have got to be kidding me." Of course there is: Granville's Fourth of July Celebration, an annual street fair, fireworks, and parade which Granville Kiwanis have been presenting since 1964.
My point here is not just to toot the horn of Granville Kiwanis: for one thing, I'm a member. It would be unseemly.
However, I've been around the discussions for the America 250-Ohio planning enough to know that the question in many parts of the state, or even elsewhere for Licking County, is "who will help us put on a big deal for 250 years of American independence?" Not everywhere is there a long tradition of a major series of events for the Fourth of July. In Granville, it's become easy to sort of take it for granted.
Trust me, there's gonna be a big event in Granville for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Simply because there's always a big event for the Fourth of July! We won't hold back in 2026. The county effort to participate in America 250-Ohio means there will be even more than usual going on, all through the year, which will help make July 4, 2026 even more special.
This just makes me want even more to point out how fortunate we are in Granville to have the history and traditions around the Fourth of July which make it an event people come from long distances to experience along with us. In the summer of 1806 when Granville was just getting started, the early records indicate "young America" observed the Fourth by using gunpowder to blow up stumps, which shows some things never change. Speeches were made, and festivities have been observed in every year since. It's just had a particular shape and form since 1964.
As a participant in the effort, though, I want to note here how not every town or community can pull this kind of program off. The banner we used to put up, and the tagline we still have, is a laconic "Just Another Granville Kiwanis 4th of July Celebration." As in "yeah, we did it before, and we'll do it again." With Granville Rotary helming the Firecracker Five, and the Granville Arts Boosters committing violence against lemon halves, and the GHS Football team tending the trash and hoisting bleacher sections, and our Marching Blue Aces and 4-H Band, plus the various Scouting units doing their parts… it is a complex web of interlocking mutually supportive efforts which take both leadership and participation to pull off.
Or as is often said: the planning for 2026 is already started. And it's gonna be great!
Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; he's proud to be a Kiwanian, especially around the Fourth. Tell him what you want to see happen in 2026 at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack77 on Threads or Bluesky.
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