Liberty Bell has been a prop, but mostly an inspiration
ATF's Tony Award viewing party Sunday; Chapman Museum begins walking tours
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Editor’s Note: This edition of The Front Page adds previously omitted photos.
Philadelphia was the final stop after leaving a week earlier and came after seven hours on the road.
The stop was an afterthought, a way to bridge the drive between the Outer Banks of North Carolina and my brother's home in Connecticut. For some reason, my American history resume lacked Philadelphia's role in the birth of our nation.
We hoped to spend the morning at Independence Hall before the required appointment with the New Jersey Turnpike.
But Independence Hall was already sold out for the next day.
My brother suggested the Ben Franklin Museum as a consolation prize and there was the Liberty Bell, of course, he pointed out.
I rolled my eyes and while I didn't like the options, a good night's sleep changed my demeanor, or maybe it was stunning view of Independence Mall in all its glory.
Those stories about the Continental Congress and the brave founding fathers who agreed to "hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately" before signing the screw you to George III had new meaning.
With time short, we headed over to the Liberty Bell Center, well, because it didn't require a ticket and there wasn't a line.
What I knew about the Liberty Bell was it had a crack in it and there are a lot of jokes about that. My brother and I added that the current president might have the crack fixed, or perhaps, the entire bell gold-plated.
The bell was literally just hanging around in what was then known as the Pennsylvania State House during the historic Continental Congress in 1776. It actually seemed to be jinxed. After arriving from the Whitechapel Foundry in 1751, it cracked on its first test ring. It was melted down right there in Philadelphia and recast. It was used after 1853 to call lawmakers to meetings and townspeople to hear the reading of news.
But that new bell included an inscription that seems remarkable considering it was placed a quarter century before the revolution.
"Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants thereof," it reads.
Despite legend, the bell did not toll its approval after the signing of the Declaration of Independence or play any other notable role in the revolution.
But the bell does have history and it probably harkens back to that inscription. After all, they did build this cracked hunk of medal its own building in the shadow of Independence Hall a few years ago.
Beginning in the 1830, the bell became a prop for whatever movement was taking place in the country.
Abolitionists used the bell as a rallying cry in the 1830s and referred to it as the "Liberty Bell." for the first time.
By the late 1800s, the bell traveled across the country to fairs and expositions like some Revolutionary War celebrity. It was a reminder that in the wake of the Civil War, there was a time when the two sides fought "together" for independence.
It you want to celebrate your cause, you had to have your picture taken with, yes, the Liberty Bell.
From women's suffrage to Civil Rights, the bell became a rallying point.
Susan B. Anthony used Independence Hall as the backdrop for her reading of the "Women's Declaration of Rights and Articles of Impeachment Against the United States" on July 4, 1876.
In 1915, Pennsylvania suffragists commissioned a replica of the bell and their "Justice Bell" traveled across Pennsylvania to encourage support for women's voting rights. It sat chained in silence until the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
Through the new visitor's center there are photos of the Liberty Bell posing with a celebrity cast from Martin Luther King to Nelson Mandela to the Dalai Lama.
"Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land
Unto All the Inhabitants thereof."
Let freedom ring.
In 1884, a special request was made from the World's Industrial and Cotton Exposition in New Orleans to let the Liberty Bell attend like another convention attendee.
They argued the South, despite the Civil War, had a stake in the bell as a national icon.
The city of Philadelphia allowed the Liberty Bell to leave the city for the first time.
In the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement used imagery of the Bell to highlight its struggle for equal rights.
By the time I finished my course on the Liberty Bell, I had to check the Declaration of Independence to see if the bell signed, too.
But among the final exhibits before meeting the bell in person was this explanation about why it matters to us today:
Why do people from around the world choose to visit the Liberty Bell? Why does this now silenced bell resonate so directly with visitors from so many varied cultures?
Perhaps the greatest strength of the Liberty Bell is the way it symbolizes the never-ending quest for freedom and the need to remain forever vigilant, for liberties gained can also be lost. This is the enduring message that the Liberty Bell embodies for all Americans and for our fellow citizens of the world.
And that message has never been so important.
ATF and Tony Award
Here is what you need to know about the Adirondack Theater Festival's Tony Awards viewing party Sunday night: The ATF folks know how to throw a party.
I've been at the winter fundraisers the past two years and never had such a good time being separated from my wallet. Hey, it was a good cause.
On Sunday, ATF will bring the Tony Awards to Glens Falls complete with a red-carpet event from 7 to 8 p.m. at Downtown Social followed by a viewing party from 8 to 11 p.m.
I'm more of an Oscar guy, but since I went and saw George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck - Clooney was nominated for acting - I feel like I have some skin in the game.
Hope to see you there. Admission is $10.
Walking tours
The Chapman Museum walking tours return this Friday with the downtown Glens Falls tour.
There are five different tours scheduled each Friday in June, July and part of August. If you want to spend a leisurely hour strolling and learning about Glens Falls, this is it. I've been on two of the five tours and hope to take in the rest this summer.
The Warren Street tour is next up on June 13 and the More of Glens Falls Tour on June 20.
Tours are $15/person or $10 for Chapman members. Payment is required at the time of registration. A minimum of four participants are required for tours to run, and no more than 15 participants per tour. To register for June tours, please call (518) 793-2826.
Farmer's market
Since I was downtown on Monday, I strolled over to see what the finished home for the Glens Falls farmer's market looks like.
It is impressive and a real step up. What is also impressive is all the work on the buildings all over South Street. The $10 million the state spent on the project is money well spent and may be the final piece of the puzzle for downtown.
ATF back
I've been a big fan of Adirondack Theater Festival fan since the 1990s. I never imagined a play I authored would be on the billboard at the Wood Theater someday.
Here's the thing. The Adirondack Theater Festival is really good. It produces original material. So I'm urging you to check it out. So many of you have told me your are going to see The Last American Newspaper July 25-27, so thankyou for that, but I urge you to pick out one more show - a season ticket to ATF would be better - to check out what you have been missing.
The actors and actresses often come from New York and are Broadway caliber. So are the productions, although on a somewhat smaller scale.
Hope to see you at the Wood Theater this summer.
Rural airports
The Trump administration recently cut half the funding for rural airports in the North Country.
This is one cut that I'm not alarmed about.
I was not aware of many of the airports, but it was not surprised that most of the flights did not sell out. I doubt these cuts will be debilitating to these communities.
But Medicare is a different story.
Attacking CBO
The Congressional Budget Office is the nation's accountants so when it says you are overspending, you should listen.
The CBO estimates that the tax cuts and additional spending for the "Big Beautiful Bill" passed by the House last week will increase the federal deficit by $3.8 trillion. Over the years, the nonpartisan agency has been very accurate.
But the Trump administration has now attacked the CBO, saying it is historically unreliable and run by Democrats.
Actually the director of the CBO is an economist named Philip Swagel who worked as chief of staff and senior economist at the Council of Economic Advisors during the George W. Bush administration and was appointed by Republicans on the House Budget Committee.
One final cut
Cuts to the National Institutes for Health (NIH) include cutting 40 percent of the funding to the National Cancer Institute.
So much for curing cancer in our lifetimes.
Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and is currently adapting his second book "The Last American Newspaper" into a play. He currently lives in Queensbury, N.Y.
The hits keep on coming.
“The wicked become even worse when they are tolerated.” - Leo Tolstoy
I am enjoying your road trips with your brother, Ken! You both remind me fun it is to be with a sibling and of places we all can visit that aren't that far away. You also remind me why our history is so important and how fragile it is. Like the Liberty Bell it seems our present day has a Crack in it.