Seminole Joins in 250th Birthday Celebration There will be plenty to do in Seminole this Saturday as the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To start the day, the Masonic Lodge (1515 W. Wrangler Blvd.) will hold its monthly breakfast at 7 a.m. The menu includes Blue and Gold sausage, pancakes, omelets made to order and your choice of beverage for a modest charge. The Seminole Arts Center, located at 129 N. Main, will open its doors at 1 p.m. for “Red, White and Bingo.” Food and cash prizes will be offered and children must be accompanied by an adult. The celebration continues downtown with a block party on Main Street featuring live music, a chili cookoff, water inflatables and more. The block party is sponsored by the Seminole Arts Council. To top off the evening, the skies will be lit up at dusk with the City of Seminole’s annual fireworks extravaganza. The display will be launched from the Municipal Park, near the splashpad. Did you know? The Declaration of Independence was not signed on July 4, 1776. While the text was officially adopted that day, the historic signing ceremony took place on August 2, 1776. The 56 delegates risked execution for treason by affixing their names to the document. John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, was the first to sign. He intentionally wrote his name large and bold, giving us the popular phrase for a signature: your “John Hancock.” The iconic painting by John Trumbull depicting all the Founding Fathers signing together on July 4 is entirely fictional. The delegates were scattered, and many were not present in Philadelphia on August 2, 1776. The youngest signers were 26-year-olds Edward Rutledge and Thomas Lynch Jr. The oldest was 70-year-old Benjamin Franklin. Several key figures didn’t sign the document, including Robert R. Livingston (part of the drafting committee) and John Dickinson, who still hoped for reconciliation with Britain. Signatures were arranged by state from north to south, starting with New Hampshire and ending with Georgia. There is an upside-down label across the bottom of the document that reads “Original Declaration of Independence dated 4th July 1776.” This was added later when the parchment had to be rolled up for storage and transport during the war. Ken Childers Editor Tue, 30 Jun 2026 - 05:41 ⬤ Celebration