MyBillOfRights.org’s Town Squares Initiative

In addition to our State Capitols initiative, MyBillofRights.org has launched a Town Squares initiative to partner with local citizens and groups interested in developing displays for their communities, and assisting with fundraising. If you are interested in partnering with MyBillofRights.org on a Town Squares project where you live, click here.

First In The Nation: July 5, 2008

America’s first Bill of Rights display was dedicated at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, in front of the largest crowd in memory for the county’s annual Independence Day celebration.

The scene could’ve been lifted from a Frank Capra movie. While the gathering sang the Star Spangled Banner, the morning’s first breath of wind snapped the flag out smartly just as it reached the top of the flagpole, as if in response to the color guard’s salute. Then, at the precise moment of the unveiling, the courthouse’s clock tower bells rang out; not as a part of any grand plan, but because it happened to be exactly 11 AM! The crowd burst into applause, and the celebration began.

It was a fitting culmination for our first Town Square project, which was truly a community effort. Hundreds of citizens from across the county contributed, led by longtime resident Hazel Sig-Hester and the Poweshiek County Board of Supervisors, and with key support from local business leaders Frank Brownell and Bill and John Bushong. They were joined by MyBillofRights.org supporters from every region of the country, who earmarked their donations for this historic initiative.

On behalf of MyBillofRights.org, congratulations and thank you all for helping us complete the first of what we hope will be many more such displays throughout America.