Have a Happy and Safe Independence Day
Every July 4th I like to take a moment to reflect on the birth of our country, the values we cherish, and the common history that binds our community together. While the East Hartford of today is a very different community than the East Hartford of 1777, I know that the same values of hard work, self-actualization, and service to community are still reflected in our community today.
Independence Day is a time to celebrate our freedoms, our history, and the unique things that make us, a nation of immigrants, one unified whole. As Americans, we are bound by common beliefs and interests, among them freedom, equality, justice, and a sense of fair play. We are driven, striving to make a life and a community that is better for us and our children after us. We remember our past and the contributions of the men and women who came before us, but we look to the future, seeing opportunity there. And we recognize that anyone can be an American, that being an American transcends language and culture and race to the things we say and do and the beliefs we hold in our hearts.
In this sense, East Hartford is as American a town as it is possible to be. Our history is steeped in the American Revolution, when East Hartford hosted allied French soldiers on their way to the final victory at Yorktown. Our fields yielded food and tobacco to a growing industrial Connecticut, and since the 19th century East Hartford has built the machinery that made modern America. Our citizens have served honorably and with distinction in America’s armed forces, and as a community we have participated in the space race and the growth of air travel.
That same revolutionary spirit is still present in our community today – East Hartford is a community that strives for continual improvement, renewal and growth. We maintain our small town character while growing to meet the needs of the future. We are both a great place to work and a great place to raise a family.
Happy Independence Day to all in East Hartford!