By Bonnie Culverhouse

Around 50 local persons and another 50-60 students that make up the Minden High School Band of Pride, the MHS chorus and Color Guard showed honor to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America Wednesday at the flagpole in downtown Minden.

Cindy Madden, DAR Chapter Regent and her husband, Jerry Madden, American Legion 4th Dist. Vice Commander were instrumental in planning the event with Mayor Nick Cox.

Jerry Madden read a history of the event that included how Paul Revere, William Dawes, along with other alarm riders, undertook the ride to alert everyone in the countryside around Boston that the British were coming. The famous ride took place overnight on April 18 – 19, 1775.

Cox read a proclamation endorsing the Two Lights For Tomorrow national initiative and called on all citizens “to unite in remembrance of our shared history, honoring the sacrifices made by those who fought for our independence and reminding ourselves of the values we hold dear today.”

The two lanterns serving as signals were immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem Paul Revere’s Ride as “one if by land, and two if by sea.”

The lanterns have become an enduring symbol of American vigilance, perseverance and preparedness in the face of adversity.

Citizens are asked to participate by displaying two lights in your homes, at your visitor centers, your cultural, historical, and community sites and in your government buildings in April 2025 to raise awareness and draw attention to and commemorate the beginning of our constant endeavor as a nation to work together for a better tomorrow.