Next week’s edition of the Harvard Press will be our last before our summer break. Notably, it will also be our second printing in living color, adding another dimension to our annual coverage of Harvard’s iconic Fourth of July celebrations.
As Carlene Phillips reports in this week’s paper, Harvard’s Fourth is a tradition that flourishes because of town volunteers who year after year organize the T-shirt sales, bicycle decorating, parade, flag-raising ceremony, games, and other events that make the day so special. (See “Harvard’s Fourth of July is long on history, short on volunteers” on page 1.)
For the past decade, Anne Hentz has led a succession of Harvard Fourth of July committees, adding something new every year while preserving the event’s traditions. This year will be her last as committee chair, though she promises to help its next leader.
Hentz has been untiring in her commitment to keeping Harvard’s Independence Day tradition alive, helped in recent years by Connie Barton, Christopher Chalifoux, and the Iverson family. When she takes the stage in front of the town library next Tuesday to lead the afternoon’s festivities, let’s give her a well-earned round of applause for her many years of service.
Hentz says it’s been fun, but it’s been even more fun for those among us who follow the parade to Bromfield every year and for a generation of children who will remember the fire trucks, the greased pole, the three-legged race, and the decorated bicycles for years to come.
Thank you, Anne!
