BETHLEHEM, Pa. - With all the grumbling we do about development and traffic — or another thing not being like it used to be — it’s easy to lose sight of how far we’ve come.
On Friday we’ll celebrate America’s 249th birthday, one year away from the nation’s semiquincentennial.
Next year will mark 250 years since the colonists’ rebellious grievances against King George III produced a bold statement of freedom and self-governance that echoes still today.
It will be an occasion celebrated and recognized across the land. And we are no exception.
Tomorrow we at Lehigh Valley Public Media kick off a yearlong project that recognizes who we are — taking stock of those who came before us, those of us here now and those who will be left with the community we create for them.
Join us in adding your voice to who we are — and what we can become.
Lehigh Valley Public Media is PBS39, 91.3 WLVR and LehighValleyNews.com, along with an education team that partners with local schools and libraries on robust programming that touches thousands of children and families annually.
Some of what we’ll deliver over the next year includes:
Events: In-person opportunities to engage in reflection, learning and conversation with neighbors about our past and future, including screenings of the new Ken Burns documentary “The American Revolution.”
Programming: A series of public forums on issues that impact our community; a new podcast series on local history; livestreaming of local events; and television and radio programs focused on the Lehigh Valley’s 250th.
What America Means to Me: Community members will share their perspectives in interviews, art, writing and movement to form a diaspora of American experience.
Lehigh Valley 250: A collection of stories focused on the Lehigh Valley’s rich history and the people, places and institutions that contributed not only to our region’s growth but to America’s development.
To get us all in the spirit, on Saturday, July 12, we’ll livestream Heritage Day 2025 — Easton’s annual public reading of the Declaration of Independence — one of just three cities where the revolutionary words were first pronounced. If you can’t be there in person, it’s a re-enactment worth witnessing as county clerk Robert Levers delivers the address to a boisterous, anxious crowd mixed with patriots, skeptics and British loyalists.
Because we’re based in Bethlehem, the first of our Lehigh Valley 250th stories focuses on the people who founded the city — the Moravians.
Reporter Will Oliver wasn’t around in 1776 or 1777, when Gen. George Washington needed a place to treat his ailing and wounded Continental Army forces. But he recounts how the Moravians — pacifists who subtly went about their business along the Monocacy — were suddenly thrust into the American Revolution as thousands of war-weary fighters descended.
We’ll get things started with that tomorrow on LehighValleyNews.com.
We invite you to come along with all we're doing in commemorating the history of America — “an experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people,” as President George Washington said in his inaugural address.
No doubt it means different things to different people. And we want to hear from you throughout the year.
Join us in adding your voice to who we are — and what we can become.
