Doña Ana County throws a great independence celebration

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.””

“Doña Ana County sure knows how to put on a party,” Anita said as we watched people stream by our booth at the fairgrounds during the county’s Independence Day celebrations. On July 1 and 2, members of the Doña Ana County Historical Society enjoyed celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with visitors of all ages at the festival.

Anita, her mother Ciala, and Olivia shared their knowledge and experiences about farming and local history while other DACHS members answered history questions, displayed local history books, invited people to pin where ancestors came from on a world map, and Sal offered a Find a Grave service.

Additionally, for this 250th anniversary, we went full Declaration of Independence. We had posters of the Declaration and gave out small Betsy Ross flags along with patriotic tricorn paper hats to youngsters.

Our main attraction invited the public to read aloud parts of the Declaration of Independence. Sal arrived with a stack of gift cards from Caliche’s to entice children to step on a crate, speak into a mike, and read the Declaration.

Jim coached passersby, and when a reader was ready, I clanged a hand bell and shouted “Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear Ye. The Declaration of Independence has just arrived from Philadelphia, and Patrick will now read parts of it for us.”

As people paused in front of our booth, a young voice would ring out: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Most readers stopped there but others continued with these next lines: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Some readers had soft voices, others boomed with dramatic authority. Families, county officials, uniformed service personnel, and elderly celebrants, all declared independence to the passing crowds. Then readers added their signatures to a facsimile of the Declaration and took that with them.

These words are the foundational beliefs of the world’s longest lasting modern democracy. As we stood next to youngsters proclaiming faith in the “consent of the governed” and in “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” we were touched by a powerful affection for our 250-year-old nation. People in the audience looked proud, happy, even amazed that their kids were declaring these beliefs. Listening to people read these words filled us with happiness. 

No one disagreed with these sacred words from our founding document. In fact, our bit of street theater fit right in with the celebratory vibe at the fairgrounds with the other informational booths, food trucks, musical acts, bouncy palaces, and drone shows.

Jim and I repeated this on July 4 at the downtown farmers’ market. Jim invited people to join in, I rang the bell, and mainly children declared independence to the crowds. We’ll continue to do this at upcoming events.

Thanks to the DACHS members who crewed the booth — Anita, Ciala, David, Dennis, Garland, Jim, Olivia, Sal, and Steve. Thanks to Andrea and Enchantment Historical Productions who lent us the Revolutionary costume. Thanks to Caliche’s who donated some of the 70 gift cards which we awarded to the bold youngsters who read the Declaration. Thanks to the Doña Ana County staff, especially Travis Brown and Gloria Maldonado and the many public safety officers who managed the crowds. You all threw a truly grand birthday party for our democracy.

For more information about DACHS’s ongoing 250th anniversary activities, go to our website at http://www.donaanacountyhistsoc.org/. Please contact us at 19dachs63@gmail.com if you would like DACHS to talk about the Declaration or the American Revolution to your school or civic organization during this anniversary year.