ELDRED — The hamlet of Eldred filled with music, food and community activities Sunday as a few hundred people gathered for the Town of Highland’s America 250 Block Party.

The town closed part of Route 55 around its intersection with Proctor Road, allowing residents and visitors to walk among local businesses, food stands, classic cars and booths operated by community organizations.

Families moved from one activity to the next throughout the afternoon. Children built wooden toolboxes at a station run by Erica Schneider of the Town of Highland Code Enforcement Department using wood donated by Callicoon Supply. Others explored emergency vehicles or tried to dunk volunteers, including Town Supervisor John Pizzolatto, at the Highland Ambulance dunk tank.

Inside Town Hall, residents viewed artifacts recovered from the community’s 1976 time capsule. Many also retrieved family cards that had been sealed away 50 years ago, while visitors purchased cards to be placed in a new time capsule.

Music carried through the hamlet throughout the day. The River Ramblers, one of several musical groups performing at the block party, rocked the deck outside the free library. The Little Big Band took the main stage at Monteleone Gardens. True to its name, the group performs big band swing and jazz with a compact ensemble featuring one saxophone, trumpet, trombone, keyboard, bass and drums backing a vocalist. Along with its regular repertoire, the band performed patriotic selections for the America 250 celebration.

National Park Service Ranger Tyler Gatti offered information about water safety, while a number of local organizations introduced visitors to their programs and services.

Food offerings included lobster rolls, Italian ice, snow cones and apple pie with ice cream. Just down the street, Tokyo Drift joined the celebration by serving sushi, edamame, Japanese barbecue skewers and Japanese beer.

The Highland Lions Club offered free blood sugar screenings during the celebration. Members also spoke about the club’s work providing eyeglasses and hearing aids, awarding scholarships, supporting youth sports and helping families following house fires and other emergencies.

Town Supervisor John Pizzolato estimated that a few hundred people attended the block party.

“I had a blast,” Pizzolato said. “It was nice to have everybody walking around town. It was nice to get eyes on all the new businesses in town.”

He said many residents also took the opportunity to stop at Town Hall and retrieve their family cards from the 1976 time capsule.

“That spirit of community and everything kind of traveling around just inspires everybody,” Pizzolato said.

Conway reflects on America’s origin story

As the afternoon gave way to the evening program, Sullivan County Historian John Conway encouraged attendees to look beyond July 4, 1776, and view the nation’s semiquincentennial as a broader opportunity to reconnect with American history.

Conway said historians generally consider the observance to span from 2025 through 2033, encompassing the full course of the Revolutionary War rather than a single anniversary date.

Calling the anniversary a chance to revisit America’s “origin story,” he focused much of his presentation on the history of Cushetunk and the Upper Delaware Valley, where neighbors found themselves divided between Patriot and Loyalist loyalties during the Revolution. Some Loyalist families later left the region for Canada following the war.

Responding to an audience question about modern political division, Conway noted that disagreement has long been part of the American experience.

“We’ve always been divided,” Conway said. “That’s our strength, and when the chips are down ... we’ve always been able to unite behind the cause.”

Procession and veterans tribute close celebration

The evening concluded with a procession representing the 50 states and a tribute to local veterans with VFW Post 6427 Tusten-Highland Lumberland.

Participants formed two groups of 25, each carrying a flag bearing the name of a state and an LED candle. They proceeded along Route 55 toward a large illuminated display, with the two lines moving along opposite sides before joining veterans assembled in the center.

The ceremony opened with the national anthem and a recorded introduction reflecting on the country’s first 250 years.

“For 250 years, one idea has united generations, the idea that ordinary people can do extraordinary things,” the introduction said. “That freedom is worth protecting, community is worth building and hope is worth passing to the next generation.”

Veterans from the local VFW stood before the display as the procession approached.

Among them was Korean War veteran Wayne King, who served as an artillery surveyor. King said he entered the service as a private and eventually became responsible for a survey crew that calculated coordinates used to position mortar units.

“We’d get the coordinates to set up for the mortars,” King said. “That was before they had all this stuff that you just pull out of your pocket.”

The procession joined the veterans in a final formation before the illuminated display, bringing the daylong celebration to a close.