Texas Almanac, 1976-1977 Page: 35
672 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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BICENTENNIAL IN TEXAS 35
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i'MRS. WILLIAM P. HOBBY JR. receives a copy of a Joseph Boggs Beale watercolor on Betsy Ross pre-
senting the first U.S. flag to Gen. George Washington. Sam Kinch Sr., chairman of the Bicentennial
Commission of Texas, makes the presentation. At right is Glendon Johnson of Galveston.
American Bicentennial in Texas
The following article was written for the Texas Almanac by Sam Kinch Sr., veteran Texas newspaperman and
chairman of the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Texas:Without fear of a charge of Texas "modesty," it can
be said that this state's program to observe the na-
tion's 200th birthday is outstanding to the point that it
has been copied nationally.
And it has consistently been in the top three states
in number of communities participating, despite com-
peting with states having budgets of up to $1 million
per year.
In addition, Texans have had a big part in shaping
the destiny of the national program.
Mrs. Anne (Tobin) Armstrong of Armstrong, Ke-
nedy County, was the first woman of cabinet rank ap-
pointed by President Richard M. Nixon, and one of her
top assignments was to maintain liaison with Bicenten-
nial programs throughout the country.
Later, during President Gerald Ford's administra-
tion, Mrs. Armstrong was one of three Texans named
to the 25-member advisory council to the American
Revolution Bicentennial Administration. Named with
her were Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson, in whose husband's
administration the Bicentennial concept was born and
nurtured, and Jacinto J. Quirante, dean of the School
of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Texas at
San Antonio.
The Texas position of leadership is due in part to a
combination of fortuitous circumstances surrounding
birth of the American Revolution Bicentennial Commis-
sion of Texas - plus the fact that the state paid a little
more attention than other states because of President
Johnson.
Texas will have more than 250 cities, towns and
communities carrying out the "past, present and fu-
ture" concept which the commission laid out for mark-
ing the start of our government's third century. They
will have more than 5,000 separate projects.
President Johnson said at the beginning that "We
must remember we are celebrating not only the birth
of American ideals but the birth of ideals that encirclethe globe." Texans were willing to listen and to get to
work.
After the Congress got the program started, Texas
was lucky that its Legislature and Gov. Preston Smith
wanted to pay more attention than most states. Others
considered the project an East Coast affair. Some of
the original 13 states figured it was something "Uncle
Sam" would handle.
But in 1969, the Texas Legislature created an auton-
omous agency, thought to be the first among the states.
It would have seven citizens appointed by the governor
for staggered terms, and two ex-officio members, the
secretary of state and the attorney general.
Early in life the commission decided it had no Bos-
ton, no Philadelphia and no Lexington, but that its heri-
tage dated back to long before those places became
household words.
Because of that, the commission declared Texas
would have no focal point but would encourage every
community - no matter how small to recall the her-
itage left by its ancestors as a first goal.
Then they were asked to celebrate the festival with
suitable entertainment; and finally, and most impor-
tantly, to leave something of a permanent nature so
that future generations would be better off because of
the present one.
ARBC of Texas laid out those goals and drafted or-
ganizational guidelines which would insure that local
communities included all facets of the population in
their planning bodies.
Those same guidelines were adopted later by the
federal commission (subsequently changed to adminis-
tration) along with the Texas plea for something last-
ing as a way of thanking past generations and leaving
something for the future ones. The thought of lasting
contributions ranges today from planting of trees to
lighting of streets for small communities, and to con-
struction of museums and civic centers for larger ones.. . . i ii i ...... . !: ii , i i
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Texas Almanac, 1976-1977, book, 1975; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth113813/m1/39/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.