4th of July 1976 Tall Ships Parade highlights

Hey Stik - 

Great find....man things were different back then. A car for under $3500.00 dollars (LOL) new (LOL). But from what I've heard from my dad those were the days when life was good.

And I agree, no HD would have been rough not having back then. And don't forget to take the Nestle Plundge 

Thanks for sharing Stik....I really enjoyed it and it was great to see all those different ships. Thanks again for posting.

I was on the roof of 200 High Street, Boston, watching Constitution lead them in. A 22 year old without a camera. 

Great nostalgia trip! You guys make me feel old when you talk about 1976 as being in another era. To me it seems like yesterday.

I was a 26-year-old grad student specializing in early American history, and I got thoroughly fed up with bicentennial celebrations and merchandise. In my home town, Columbus, Ohio, a patriotic group went around painting fire hydrants to resemble (?) the founding fathers. My dog took a leak on Alexander Hamilton.

When school let out for that summer I put together all the cash I could muster and took a trip (driving, in my old 1964 Buick Skylark) to the east coast. I'd always been interested in museums, historic sites, and venues - bicentennial or no bicentennial.

The race of the "tall ships" (gawd I hate that term) started in the Caribbean and ended at Newport, Rhode Island. I was standing on a hill overlooking Newport when they came in. I'll never forget the sight of those ships appearing, one-by-one, out of the mist.

On that same trip I discovered what must surely have been the ultimate bicentennial souvenir. Unfortunately it wasn't for sale, and my youthful Ohio morals wouldn't let me swipe it from the motel room where it resided. I've been kicking myself ever since for passing up the opportunity to acquire it - a roll of Bicentennial Toilet Paper.

In a few months, it will have been 40 years ago... and yes, I have pretty clear memories of then as well. My family went to New York and DC in August of that year for our vacation, just after all the hoopla had died down. All the exhibits were still there, but the crowds were not so bad.

I had just gotten out of the AF in April and was back here, inland, and trying to make ends meet.  Didn't pay much attention then, to my dismay now.

Still run across a bi-centenial coin every once in awhile, especially 3-6 years ago when everyone was digging into the coin collection in the middle of the recesssion

Thanks for the link Stik.  Brings back loads of memories as I was there.

I was 36 and spending a long 1 week vacation with my 1st wife in NY at the home of one of her cousins.  He was the owner of a 30foot Star racing sailboat and had planned to be there on the water to enjoy the show without letting us in on it till we hit the water.  Had a great time that day.  Amazing to see those ships sail by us.  Did some HEAVY partying that night.  People in other boats would invite you on board for a drink.  We went from boat to boat all night.

 I took enough pics to fill 2 complete carousels with slides.  Lost all of them in '88 when a water pipe burst in the basement of our house.

Jim  

I was 16 and alternated between over-tired of the falderol and youthfully enthused by the spectacle.

I wanted more about the ships, so, naturally, there was less.

Man, that was a blast from the past! Thanks for posting it Stik. I was a junior in High School at the time and wishing that I was living on the other coast.

Steve

Never got to see the parade of ships.  Liked the one with the Bofors cannons on each side. 

I did get to see the Freedom Train when it came to Littlerock and still have the souvenier book I picked up there.

A lot of good aircraft paint schemes came out that year.

Just before the 4th we got a call from the F.B.I. that they had picked up a guy in a motel just outside the base armed with a shotgun, a .22 caliber rifle with a scope, I think he had a pistol, and he had some explosives.  It seemed he was planning on paying us a visit in the near future but they hit first.  For the next few days most of us discreetly carried a second more powerful pistol besides our .38s.  I carried a Colt Python with a 4 inch barrel and a couple rounds of explosive tipped ammo besides the regular load.

I remember those commercials, except the one with John Ritter.

A couple years earlier I bought my new Plymouth Duster for $1,500, brand new.  In 1977 I picked up a new F-150 Supercab truck with a 8 foot bed and formed white camper shell for about $7,000.  That's only about 2,000 more than my Father bought his two story house with an acre 1/2 of land after WWII.

times change

ikar01

 

A lot of good aircraft paint schemes came out that year.

 

 

Yes indeed! 

Stik-- that was neat to see again. I was sick of the hype too. I remember feeling disappointed when the day came. Watching this video kind of brought that same feeling back. Seeing all the ships would have been cool, but other than that, it still seems anticlimactic to me. So that makes me think. What could have been done different that would have taken the celebration out of the realm of glitter and hype, to something more meaningful and interesting. The only thing that I can think of, that I personally think would have been cool, is that they stage some of the battles surrounding that period of time. That they use ships, canons, you name it. They could make it multi day televised event. It would be a great history lesson, that is for sure. 

Anyway, I am certainly nostalic for that period time. At least up until disco hit the scenes. Blah! I was 15 years old and having some fun. It was a time of CB radios, hanging out with friends, and drive-in movies.