250th stirs Acton pride, historical reflection
Church bells, artillery, and jets played a symphony as the town celebrated the 250th anniversary of its most pivotal day.
Church bells, artillery, and jets played a symphony through Acton as the town celebrated the 250th anniversary of its most pivotal day.
Long after the “shot heard round the world,” people who call this place home were grateful for the day’s pageantry and emotional about the modern context. Residents praised those who spent years planning the semiquincentennial commemoration of the start of the American Revolution.
“I always knew it was a wonderful place, but I was very proud to be a Concordian today,” said longtime resident Nancy Palmer.
Dawn Salute and North Bridge ceremony
Volunteers, town staff, law enforcement, and National Park Service officials collaborated to plan Saturday’s slate of events that started with the traditional Dawn Salute at Minute Man National Historical Park.
Frank D. Bradford II reenacted Dr. Samuel Prescott’s horseback warning about advancing British soldiers bound for Acton. A brief ceremony proceeded. Reenactors blasted their muskets and the Acton Independent Battery fired its guns alongside the 101st Field Artillery of the Massachusetts Army National Guard.
Despite road closures that limited access, the crowd was “much bigger” than usual, according to former Minute Man National Historical Park superintendent Nancy Nelson. Public Ceremonies & Celebrations Committee member Nancy Crowley said the showing smashed the usual mark of 100-150 attendees.
Park crowds waned after the Dawn Salute but swelled again for a midmorning ceremony featuring Gov. Maura Healey, Rep. Lori Trahan, and others.
A 21-cannon salute and military flyover were some of the ceremony’s highlights. The flyover featured two F-15 fighter jets and a KC-46 refueling plane. It arrived roughly 30 seconds early, but the moment got rave reviews and many didn’t realize it was a miscue.
Healey earned cheers from the audience as she obliquely criticized President Donald Trump and urged listeners to defend freedom. Trahan won similar praise and closed her remarks by saying, “Let us be citizens worthy of this history.”
This year’s larger-than-usual Patriots Day Weekend parade continued after the North Bridge ceremony.
Like Palmer, Laura Close said the day made her proud to be a Concordian.
Close said she broke into tears twice as she reflected on the history at hand and the current political climate. At one point, she said she shed a tear when she saw someone holding a sign on the Old North Bridge condemning tyranny. “Those guys were so brave,” Laura said of the Minute Men who stood down the British.
Good deeds
An early estimate from Concord250 Executive Committee co-chair Rob Munro put this weekend’s crowd at between 70,000 and 75,000 people.
Within the masses, echoes of history and benevolent deeds abounded.
When a reenactor dropped her hat from the North Bridge into the Acton River during the parade, volunteer ambassador Julia Khorana tried to paddle a canoe to retrieve it. (Khorana was already in the canoe to help answer questions for other boaters near the bridge. A State Environmental Police officer arrived at the hat first, plucked it from the water, and returned it.)
Near the end of the day, when hundreds of visitors walked along Walden Street toward an evening drone show at Acton-Carlisle High School, young Will Resnick and his family set up a stand selling homemade granola and candy to raise money for Boston Children’s Hospital.
He said the effort was “relatively spontaneous.” After realizing spectators would stream past his neighborhood on the way to the drone show, Will said, “We knew this would be the perfect time” to support a worthy cause.
Will said he collected $175.
Acton Center became a melting pot of cultures before Saturday’s events as people visited from around the world. Red, white, and blue bunting hung from businesses. The Acton Center post office got a last-minute paint job.
“With everything going on right now, I think it brought some peace,” Palmer said of Saturday’s programs.
A few snags
Concord250 events avoided major issues, according to police (although high heat caused some dehydration and vomiting incidents).
Rain raised questions about the drone show before officials confirmed it would proceed.
Earlier in the day, issues at the main Concord250 shuttle bus hub at the Acton Museum left some riders with long waits for a seat. Riders grew frustrated, but the situation was eventually resolved.
The drone show was Saturday’s finale. It featured Revolution-themed images made with lighted drones flying in formation. “I’ve never seen anything like this. It was my first time,” said youngster Victor Gresty, whose family biked to the high school to see drones create images like Paul Revere’s lantern and the Concord250 logo in the sky.
Early-morning ride
The Palmers were volunteer ambassadors helping visitors navigate the events. Nancy said her 28-year-old son also volunteered and found himself opening his eyes to history around him.
Nancy husband, Larry, found the whole day well organized.
“The celebration brought out a lot of meaning to a lot of people,” he said.
CCHS alumnus Caleb Perlman now lives in Cambridge, but spent the night before the big day at his parents’ home. He set his alarm for 5 a.m. but said he couldn’t sleep, so he got started at 4:15 a.m. He rode his bike to Old North Bridge and enjoyed roads quieted by traffic restrictions.
Perlman said Acton is special because it has “always been a place of independent thought,” and “there’s something almost spiritual about being a witness to that.”
He recalled learning history in school. At North Bridge, he said he feels a tangible connection to the past.
“There is a cultural throughline between now and what I’ve read about historical Acton,” he said.
Perlman said he’s “not big on symbolic gestures and big events.”
“I feel like this one’s different,” he said.
Additional reporting by Trace Salzbrenner.
