4-H – 1976 Bicentennial Heritage Tour (Washington D. C.)
My mother was the leader of the Little Butternut 4-H Club for decades – starting in the early 1970s. She became involved when my sister and I were of age to participate in the ‘Explorers’ activity, a requirement for new club members so they can get a taste for what 4-H had to offer. During our time in 4-H, my sister and I were involved in all sorts of activities; skit and drama programs, marching in parades, submitting exhibits at the Polk County Fair and judging, field trips, junior leadership summits.
Trip Qualification
A wonderful opportunity came my way in 1976 – the 200th anniversary of the year the United States of America declared its independence from England. I am 15 years old at the time. The Polk County 4-H Extension organization planned to take a busload of kids from Wisconsin to the east coast for 10 days; stopping at historical locations along the way. To qualify, I had to write an essay. I ended up being selected.
Scheduled to be on the bus were 5 boys, 34 girls, and 7 adult chaperones. Our instructions were: “You are to bring one large suitcase and one sleeping bag to put in the luggage compartment on the bus. Bring a pillow. You will need tower and soap for fairgrounds camp and park overnights.” This was going to be the longest I had ever been away from home and my family. We were required to pay for most of our meals during the trip. One of the boys did not understand that, so we took up a collection on the first day of the trip to make sure his meals were covered.
The Journey
We left from the Barron, WI courthouse on June 17, 1976. Changed bus drivers in Elkhart, IN. Spent the first evening in youth dormitories on the Hamburg, NY fairgrounds. The next day we drove through Pennsylvania to the 4-H Center in Ashland, MS. The next two days were full of sightseeing in Boston and Salem, MA. In Boston, MA, we walked the Freedom Trail, visited historical buildings and bridges, toured tall ships in the Boston harbor, briefly saw the New England Aquarium. We went swam in the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Cod and saw Plymouth Rock.
I sent a postcard to my parents: “Dear everybody, Having a great time. I’m not bus-sick anymore. We went to Boston and Concord. Too much history in one day! We went to the movie, “All The President’s Men”. Everybody had to go and pay for it ourselves. I almost ran out of film taking pictures of everything today. Went on the U. S. S. Constitution. Having fun with Glenn, Cris, and Roberta. We went to an aquarium, but we only got to stay there 20 minutes. We saw a recreation of the Battle of Bunker Hill. You wouldn’t guess where the Boston Massacre took place: in the middle of a concrete island between roads …”
On our way to Washington D.C. on June 23, 1976, our route was to take us near New York City. All the kids wanted the bus driver to take us through one of the Burroughs. He reluctantly did. He stopped on a street next to a fruit vendor. Some people got out to take pictures and buy some fruit. There was an urgency to get back on the bus and get going. As we left the area, we ended up driving through Harlem. People on the street where yelling at us, giving us the finger, grabbing their crotches. One guy tried to open up the bus’ luggage storage compartment. Our bus driver kicked it into gear and got us young ‘sheltered, naive, mid-west caucasians’ out of there! I still remember the shock on our faces as we left.
In Washington D.C., we stayed at the Harrington Hotel. The next two days we did walking tours. We met with our state representative, Alvin Baldus, on the steps of the Capital building. After taking a group photo, he gave us tickets to visit a session of the House of Representatives and Senate. We went to Arlington Cemetery, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, Ford’s Theater, White House, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institute, Supreme Court building, National Archives, Washington Monument.
On June 25, 1976, we headed back to Wisconsin. After a day’s drive, we stayed overnight at the Kiwanis Pavilion in Lancaster, PA. We saw the Amish settlement. June 26th, 1976 was a Saturday. We had a driving tour of the city of Gettysburg, PA and the battleground. We drove to Ashland, Ohio where we stayed with host 4-H families (mine was Kent Mcgovern). We drove all day June 27th, 1976 until arriving back at the Barron Courthouse that evening.
Back Home
Because there were so few boys on the trip, I was on the receiving end of flirting from a couple of the girls. I had no idea how to handle it at the time, but did appreciate the attention. I remember the bus air conditioning being stuck; feeling dirty and tired the entire last day of the trip.
The experience created some very strong memories and turned out to be one of the more influential events in my life. It so happened that the following year, 1977, I also went on a trip to Washington D.C. on a bus via a 4-H program called Citizenship ShortCourse that I wrote about in a previous blog post.
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