This year, the Fourth of July will mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To celebrate this anniversary, the Youngstown State University Department of Humanities and Social Sciences will host several events throughout the year as part of its America250 program.
Amy Fluker, associate professor of history, said the anniversary gives students a chance to learn about and celebrate U.S. history.
“We just felt like it was a really important opportunity to allow students an opportunity to, sort of, celebrate the past, and more particularly the American past,” Fluker said. “All the things about this country, and about our particular local community, that makes us special.”
Fluker said Youngstown has played a role in significant historical events that tie the area into nationwide history.
“Settlers came into our valley in the late 18th century, and they were certainly part of the American Revolution,” Fluker said. “They’ve been a part of every major development in our nation’s history from the 18th century to today, particularly active in the anti-slavery movement, which I think is notable, and of course in industrial history as well.”
The first of the America250 celebrations took place Jan. 9 at Noble Creature Wild Ales & Lagers. As part of the event, Fluker said guests could try a special beer recipe created by President George Washington for his army during the Revolutionary War.
“[Noble Creature] worked with one of our history faculty members, Kyle Starkey, to develop a sort of modernized version of George Washington’s recipe for beer,” Fluker said. “[It] was an important ration that soldiers in the Continental Army were given because it’s sustaining and good.”
Fluker explained she reached out to Noble Creature, a downtown-Youngstown brewery founded in 2017, because of its brewing capability and community engagement opportunities.
“They’re on site, so it’s local craft beer, which is why we reached out to them because we knew that they would have the perfect kind of environment to make this special brew that we wanted to make for our event,” Fluker said.
Also part of the event was Curt Radabaugh, professional reenactor who played the role of George Washington and discussed the history of the revolution, including a view of life in the Continental Army.
“We have a gentleman named [Radabaugh] who does impersonations and reenactments of George Washington,” Fluker said. “He does these all over the country, and so he agreed to come in character as George Washington and speak about what life was like in the Continental Army.”
The next event planned for America250 will be hosted Feb. 20 at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor. It will feature a screening and discussion of the film, “The Deerhunter.”
