2014 events helped mark Jackson bicentennial

As I look back at 2014, it was a very good year for the city of Jackson. We celebrated our bicentennial with a wide variety of activities.

We started with a reception in January with officials reading proclamations about the history leading to our 200th birthday, people in historic costumes, a beard fashion show, burying of the razor and unveiling a time capsule for storing items collected during the year.

The February event was "Dance Through the Ages" with instructors helping seniors and young people learn a variety of dances.

In March we completed our Mayor's Gallery in the council chambers by adding the portraits of all those past mayors who were not previously recognized.

The Iron Mountain Railroad organized a great Civil War re-enactment in April with many displays, ladies in period dress, men in uniform, and a ceremony featuring the firing of a Civil War canon.

Uptown Jackson sponsored Jackson in Bloom in May. Flowers, crafts and landscaping items were sold, but an old-fashioned Maypole ceremony was the highlight of the event.

The five churches more than 100 years old in Uptown Jackson have contributed much to our history and culture, which they shared with the public at open houses in June.

On the Fourth of July celebration in 1814 the citizens voted to name our city after Andrew Jackson, which encouraged extra activities for our present-day July celebrations. Our July 4 in the city park was even busier than usual. In addition to the mud volleyball tournament and Antique Car Show, there were helicopter rides, a golf ball drop, a duck race on Hubble Creek and more. Following the patriotic performance by the Muny Band, we had a fantastic fireworks display.

On July 5, the Chamber of Commerce organized a parade consisting of nonmotorized vehicles. There were fancy surries and wagons, including a chuck wagon, stagecoach and hearse, all pulled by horses. Following the parade, they all "circled" in the city park so folks could get a closer look and a stagecoach ride.

The five-day Homecomers celebration started with a bicentennial fashion show as the first night's entertainment. Bicentennial plates were awarded to selected "old-timers" and veterans each night.

A committee began working early in the year on a video depicting Jackson's history. The video, "A Town Called Jackson," was given its premier showing in August at the old historic auditorium at Jackson High School. With the video and a display of many old photographs, we truly had an opportunity to look back at our history.

The popular Oktoberfest sponsored by Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization (UJRO) was fun and well-attended with many people dressed in costumes depicting the German heritage of this region.

We honored our veterans in November with the annual parade and a bicentennial display of old military uniforms. UJRO decorated the gazebo, the lightpoles on High Street, the "Frozen" display, and sponsored this year's Christmas Parade, making it a delight to visit Uptown Jackson.

We can look forward to 2015 with wonderful memories of our bicentennial year.

Barbara Lohr is the mayor of Jackson.