Happy 4th. Take a gander at this how-to guide for celebrating Independence Day, written by Founding Daddy-o John Adams in a letter to his wife Abby, back when the first American Independence Day was just about to go down:

“ … It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations …”

Hold on, John Adams. Bells and bonfires? Are we not doing this right? America, we totally forgot about the bonfires and bells.

I think we’re in the clear with the rest of his list. Let’s see. Illuminations, check. We got Shake the Lake here in Wallowa County for that. Parade, yep, Wallowa does us proud on that score.

Pomp? I think fireworks and a parade get filed under pomp. Also circumstance. Shows, games and sports? Yeah, we got TV now, John Adams, so check, check and check. Guns? Kind of random for a festivity wish list, but, uh, definite check.

Now gather around for a riveting bit of history, kids. This John Adams fellow helped a lot with the Kickstarter campaign to get America going and got to be President, right after the guy on the one dollar bill.

Adams was pretty good pals with Thomas Jefferson, who also got to be President. This Jefferson guy did a lot of stuff. Very busy.

He’s the dude that sent Lewis and Clark on a camping trip, and that’s why you see those signs along the highway with one guy always pointing at something.

OK, so we got two presidents and they were both around when America was just getting started and they ran it out of their parents’ garage.

Now, hold onto your sparklers because 50 years after the first American Independence Day, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson die on Independence Day. That’s a little weird, isn’t it?

Light another sparkler because here comes some more interesting history. James Monroe, America’s fifth president, died on … let’s see … yes, that is correct, the fourth of July.

You will be happy to know our 30th President, Calvin Coolidge, did not die on the fourth of July. But he was born on July 4. That is all somewhat peculiar, is it not?

Back to Adams and Jefferson. They agreed that America was awesome, but started to argue about how to keep it awesome.

Jefferson especially didn’t like some new laws that restricted what people from other countries could do in America. Jefferson was also very thumbs-down when it came to limiting freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Adams was more of a “fake news” and “bad hombre” guy, although back then they said, “bothersome broadsheet” and “troublesome muchacho.”

So they quit being pals, had a super bitter political campaign against each other, exchanged nasty remarks in the press and then they both died 50 years later on the same day. So you see, kids, history doth repeat itself, kind of.

Let’s end this on a high note. One more sparkler. This next item is from Thomas Jefferson writing to John Adams in 1821.

“… The flames kindled on the 4th of July 1776 have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism. On the contrary they will consume those engines, and all who work them.”

Nice one, Tom.

Happy Independence Day, everybody.

Jon Rombach lives in Wallowa County, writes a column for the Chieftain and does some other stuff.