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As it should be, a lot has been made this year of the 250th anniversary (birthday) of our country. It is a time to reflect back on what it has taken to bring us to where we are today.
One of my siblings reminded me that, in fact, we have been alive for about 1/3rd of that time -- just think about it. If you divide 250 by three ... you get my age! Either I am very old or the country is very young -- and both are true.
It made me reflect back upon conversations with my father. He told us that in discussions he had with his grandfather, that his grandfather described working all winter with other men on downing logs near the Conewango Creek, then rafting them together, and when the ice melted and the water came up, they floated them down the Conewango, Allegheny and Ohio Rivers to Pittsburg and Cincinnati where they sold the timber.
My Dad said that once at his destination, his grandfather would sell the logs and depending on how much money he had made -- he would either buy a horse and ride home or, if the profit was small, he would walk back home to Chautauqua County. Can you imagine it?!
Imagine -- not just the idea of walking home from Cincinnati, but the effort that was put into the whole enterprise. And in reflecting more upon it -- my Dad's grandfather was just a generation or two away from those who founded the country. So, the country is indeed young.
We tend to think, for example, that the Civil War was a long time ago, but -- when you think about it this way -- it is really not that long ago. We are still a young country.
Because of the resilience, strength and extent of our country, Americans today tend not to travel much beyond our borders. Why go anywhere else when we have it all here? "If I want to go south, I can go to Florida. If I want to go west, I can go to LA." That's good enough for me!"
Yet, in the 20th century, we did go well beyond our borders. In World War I, we went to France, and the boys came home singing: "How you gonna' keep them down on the farm, after they've seen Paree'!"
Then came World War II, Korea and Vietnam. We had our footprint all over the world.
Also, back in those days, we had the military draft, and young men from all over the country were brought together and sent all over the world. I was a part of that at duty stations in Japan and Vietnam. While there, I met men from all over our country -- Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, LA, New York City…. The military was a melting pot. We not only got to see other countries, we got to better know and understand our fellow countrymen.
With the end of the draft, we seem to have lost some of that commonality of interest. We have become more isolated not only by not visiting other countries, but from not meeting and getting to know each other as we did back then.
I hope that, somehow, we can bring back those days of seeing ourselves as connected internationally as well as working together for our country's common interest. Time will tell if that happens.
In the meantime, there is still much to be thankful for. "Happy 250th birthday, America!"
Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.