What were you doing in the summer of 1976? I pose that question realizing that half the population of Knox County probably wasn’t around for it or was too young to remember it if they were. It’s also jarring that I can clearly remember a great many things 50 years in my rear-view mirror.
We are now less than two weeks away from celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday. But 50 years ago, it was all about the bicentennial. Back then, there was still a Knoxville City Schools system, and school wasn’t out until early June. So, the run to July 4th was a short one.
Summertime, for me and my brothers, meant competitive swimming at Beaver Brook County Club. Though our official swim suits were royal blue with white stripes down the side, that particular summer, star spangled Speedos were all the rage.
I do not recall exactly when we went, but my family took off for a vacation in Florida, no extended family, just us. For you young’uns, this was back in the ancient times of no cell phones nor GPS to tell you where to go. You trotted yourself down to the closest Triple A office to pick up a paper map book with your preferred route spelled out and highlighted in yellow, with alternate routes in green. Their Trip Tiks included locations of gas stations, restaurants like Howard Johnson’s and Stuckey’s. A tour guide for your destination state was also included. And you couldn’t leave without picking up some American Express Traveler’s Checks so you weren’t off on your great American Road Trip just carrying a pile of cash.
For my family, whether it was a trip to the mountains or vacation, a road trip meant a Coleman cooler packed with sandwiches and a Coleman jug filled with iced tea, lemonade or Kool-Aide. We were on our way to Ormand Beach, just north of Daytona. I do not remember whether we went over the mountains and down the coast or straight down 75 to Florida. In my defense, I am the queen of sleeping through car travel as long as I’m not behind the wheel.
But our trip down was a meandering one. We first stopped in St. Augustine, the oldest European founded city the continental U.S. We visited the old town and its cobble stone streets that predate Plymouth and Jamestown by 60 years, as well as the remarkable Castillo de San Marcos and the Bridge of Lions. Eventually we made it to our motel in Ormand.
Other than beach time, we took a couple of day trips out while we were there. One was to the Kennedy Space Center Museum and Cape Canaveral. We were in the years between the end of Apollo missions and the launch of the space shuttle era. It was the time of Skylab, the precursor to the International Space Station.
The pièce de résistance, of course, was the requisite trip to Disney World. While I know it wasn’t a cheap feat for my parents to pull off for their four children, I do know it wasn’t as insanely expensive as it is now, even adjusted for inflation. The highlights were the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, and the late, great 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The day wrapped up with the park’s spectacular America on Parade, it’s bicentennial tribute that began in 1975 and ran daily through early 1977. Nobody does a parade finished off with fireworks quite like Disney. It was ridiculous (Mickey, Donald and Goofy cosplaying the Spirit of ’76) and absolutely spectacular.
What were you doing in the summer of ’76?
Beth Kinnane writes a history feature for KnoxTNToday.com. It’s published each Tuesday and is one of our best-read features.
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