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Ken Ortiz
Hello fellow bicentennials,
As you may know, our graduating class had the unique distinction of being the bicentennial class (200 years, 1776 - 1976) the same year our country was also celebrating it's bicentennial. And I still have our bicentennial medal and ribbon we wore for our graduation. So one idea I thought of for celebrating our 50th year reunion is that we bring bicentennial mementos to our reunion. I remember showing a picture of a bicentennial mug I saw (but didn't buy) at a local thrift store awhile back. Maybe I will make a quest to find that mug again and if I do, I will buy it (hopefully at thrift store prices if it hasn't become a vintage collector's item yet) then bring it to our reunion.
Because of my bowling failure while on the Lane Varsity bowling team my junior year (a sad story I have not told here yet), but to make it short, I bowled a horrible first game during our city tournament quarterfinals (against Morgan Park) and cost us the city championship as our team was one of the favorites. I was benched after that first game but even with me being replaced, we didn't prevail and got eliminated. Bottom line: My first game was so poor because I had lots of bowling talent, but did not yet have the bowling "savvy" as I went with a new bowling ball, thinking it would work better than my old reliable bowling ball. So I decided to "go pro" my senior year and started bowling in adult (money) leagues. There was a rule that YBA bowlers could not compete if they were bowling in adult leagues, so I was not eligible to be on the varsity bowling team my senior year. But one thing I was able to earn while bowling adult leagues in 1976 was that I earned a bowling bicentennial patch. If you bowled a 200 or better game, you got a 200 patch. Here it is as I still have it and I can bring that to our reunion.
I also have a bicentennial quarter, half dollar and a 1976 $2 bill I can bring to our reunion.
I also found an interesting bicentennial reference in a movie I recently saw again on streaming. Does anybody remember Kindergarden Cop with Arnold Schwarzenegger? There was a scene where he is on the plane with his cop partner and they were talking about info they found on the mother (Joyce, played by Penelope Ann Miller) and child they were to protect. They found out that the mother graduated high school in 1976 so that means that Joyce is also a bicentennial!
I am wondering what other bicentennial momentos and/or references there are out there and are there any that you can think of? I will keep my eyes open for other bicentennial SWAG out there. (WHEW! I used the word bicentennial way too many times here!)
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