By MATT PIKE
In honor of the 250th anniversary of America, the St. Joseph chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution will do a special reading of the Declaration of Independence this week.
On July 8th, 1776, the public heard the words of the declaration for the first time ever. Now, Vice President of the chapter Eric Montegna says 250 years later the words are going to be read again.
"We all think we know what's in the declaration, we've studied it in school, we've looked at it here and there, but how many times have we actually heard it in its entirety?" Montegna tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "So, it's kind of an exciting thing, everyone is kind of focused on the Fourth, but that's really just the beginning of all these events all the way to the founding of our nation."
The event will be held on July 8th, 2026, on the steps of City Hall with some members of the group in colonial garb, and others not, for a brief ceremony starting at 5pm.
Montegna says this year is a very important milestone that only comes around once or twice in a lifetime and adds being able to hear the words again gives people more of a feeling of the foundation of this country.
"And I hope when you walk away from it you think this wasn't the end, this was the beginning," Montegna explains. "And all these people were putting their lives, their property, and the safety of their family at stake by even saying such a thing going up against, at the time, the most powerful force in the world the British government, it was treason, the 56 people who signed it were signing their death warrants they believed in it so much, they believed in what America could be so much, they were willing to risk it all."
You can learn more about the event and about the Sons of the American Revolution you can visit the groups Facebook page.
Interview
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.