HAPPY 250th BIRTHDAY!

 

Happy 250^th Birthday

 

I couldn’t wait until July to write this column. All of 2026 is a year-long celebration of the birth of this great nation. Those of us that love this God-Blessed Land of the Free and Home of the Brave must ignore the whimpers and cries of cynics and critics who were probably baptized in pickle juice! Without apology, I get teary-eyed when the National Anthem is played and the playing of Taps seems to transfix me. 

When I was involved in sales, I would sometimes hear a customer say, “That’s too much.”  I quickly learned to reply, “Compared to what?” This often changed the entire discussion when the customer realized they had no real less expensive alternative.  Likewise, when nay sayers bash America, let’s politely ask, “Compared to what?”

Some readers may recall our 200^th Birthday which we celebrated in 1976.  I recall the tall ships sailing into the harbor in New York City, the military reenactments, the fireworks, the patriotic music, and the inspiring speeches.  The majority of Americans felt good about our country and themselves. 

Sadly, the 250^th Birthday celebration sees a divided and very suspicious nation.  In my opinion, anger has reached a dangerous point.  History still matters.  Too many folks today sincerely believe history did not start until they were born.  If you want to fall in love again with the founding history of this special nation, I suggest you read David McCullough’s book, “John Adams.”  I plan to re-read it this year.

This column will focus on a few very consequential events that happened during our struggle for Independence. 

1.  General George Washington’s narrow escape from Brooklyn, New York, bore the fingerprints of Providence.  His army was soundly defeated in the Battle of Long Island.  They were surrounded by British forces in front of them and the East River behind them. Destruction of the Continental Army seemed just hours away; however, a thick fog rolled in and the 9,000 troops of General Washington’s army escaped quietly across the river at night.  How did this happen?

2.  Washington’s crossing the Delaware River, which had previously been frozen, successfully surprised Hessian troops in Trenton on Christmas night. The victory seemed improbable, but it served to inspire the entire Revolutionary Cause.

3.  The major victory at Yorktown resulted from an unusual series of events.  The British Army was delayed because of storms, the Continental Army was in a perfect position, and the combined American-French forces won the battle.  Was this an accident, coincidence, or the unseen hand of Providence at work?

 

A correct re-reading of the history of the birth of the United States of America is filled with impossible situations and filled with impossible victories. I stand with Lee Greenwood who sang, “I’m Proud to Be an American.”

Glenn C. Peck 

 

Get the ball to BEVO

 

Who Was Bevo Francis?

In the January 20^th Shawnee News-Star there was an article about OBU’s Terry Coner, Jr. being added to the Bevo Francis Top 100 watch list for small-college basketball players.  I am going to guess few readers know anything about Bevo Francis. During my growing up years in the fanatical basketball state of Indiana, Bevo Francis was a household name.  Here’s why:

Clarence “Bevo” Francis was a farm boy from Hammondsville, Ohio. “Bevo” Francis got his nickname in his childhood from a non-alcoholic beer his father drank.  The near-beer was called BEVO.   He was 6’9” and played two years (1952-54) at Rio Grand College in Ohio.  During his playing days his school was 39-0.  He accomplished a feat that seemed impossible—on January 9, 1953, he became the first player to score 100 points in a game when he scored 116 points against Ashland Junior College in Kentucky.  He scored 65 points during the first three quarters and had a 51-point fourth quarter.  In another game he scored 113 points.  During his two-year career, he scored 3,272 points, which gave him an average per game of almost 50 points.  He was the first NAIA player to achieve All-American status.

Bevo was in every newspaper and on every radio sports broadcast in Indiana. Conversation in the barbershops, on the school buses, in the classrooms and at the dinner table spoke of his seemingly impossible basketball achievement. Everything about the Bevo story was like a fairy tale—farm boy, small unheralded college, and an unknown player skyrocketing to the top of the basketball world.

  During his phenomenal career, there was no three-point shot line or the 1 and 1 foul shot.  Following his college playing days, he signed with the Boston Whirlwinds, who were the sacrificial lambs to the Harlem Globetrotters.  He later served as the girls’ basketball coach at Southern Local High School in Ohio where his granddaughter played and the team went 65-5.

In the 1950’s I was a farm boy playing basketball and dreaming of being a great player like Bevo.

Glenn Peck

Shawnee, OK