News Flash

The Tucker's Barn DAR held the ceremony at the Charters of Freedom in Downtown Lenoir, Monday morning, July 3, 2023.

During the event, DAR members and attendees recited the Pledge of Allegiance, read excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, recited famous patriotic quotes about liberty, and sang the Star Spangled Banner. During the ceremony, Mayor Gibbons read an Independence Day 2023 Remembrance & Celebration resolution. The full resolution is below.

This July 4th, Mayor Gibbons encourages "all residents in Lenoir to read the Declaration of Independence, participate in Fourth of July activities, and remember the principles and convictions that led our forefathers to form a new nation and secure for all Americans the right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Click the following link to read a transcript of the Declaration of Independence, https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript.

Mayor Gibbons, center, and members of the Tucker's Barn Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) pose in front of the Charters of Freedom in Downtown Lenoir, Monday, July 3, 2023.
Mayor Gibbons, left, reads the Independence Day 2023 Remembrance & Celebration resolution during the ceremony, Monday, July 3, 2023.	Tucker's Barn DAR members read passages from the Declaration of Independence and patriotic quotes.

To celebrate Independence Day, the City decorated Downtown Lenoir with American flags and patriotic banners. 

Staff are also hosting a 4th of July Splash Bash at the Lenoir Aquatic & Fitness Center tomorrow, July 4. The City of Lenoir fireworks show will start around 9:30 pm at Lenoir Optimist Park. Click the following links for more information about those events:

• 4th of July Splash Bash
• July 4th Fireworks Show

City Hall, Martin Luther King Jr. Center, and Mulberry Recreation Center will be closed tomorrow, July 4, 2023. 

Garbage normally picked up on Tuesday, July 4, will be picked up on Wednesday, July 5. All other household garbage pickups will remain on a normal schedule. There will be NO bulk collections during this week. 

July 4th Decorations in Downtown Lenoir
July 4th Decorations in Downtown Lenoir	July 4th Decorations in Downtown Lenoir

Independence Day 2023 Remembrance & Celebration

WHEREAS, the First Continental Congress was called to meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1774 in response to growing tensions between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the thirteen American colonies, and the Second Continental Congress convened in 1775 shortly after the Battles of Lexington and Concord; and

WHEREAS, after peace between Britain and the Thirteen Colonies was not forthcoming, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia in the spring of 1776 and called for the Colonies to sever ties with England and declare themselves as independent and sovereign States; and

WHEREAS, on April 12, 1776, the North Carolina Provincial Congress sitting at Halifax, North Carolina, voted to approve the Halifax Resolves – the first order by any colonial government to its delegates in Philadelphia to vote for independence; and

WHEREAS, a five-man committee of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman was formed to draft a document to voice the reasons for their decision to secede and assert the colonists’ right to declare independence; and

WHEREAS, on July 2, 1776, members of the Second Continental Congress voted to approve independence from Great Britain, and on July 4, 1776, those same delegates voted to approve the Declaration of Independence; and

WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence became one of the most circulated and widely reprinted documents in early American history; and

WHEREAS, the first Independence Day was celebrated on July 4, 1777, with great “Pomp and Parade” including games, bells, guns, sports, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of the Colonies to the other; and

WHEREAS, 247 years have passed and Americans continue to celebrate Independence Day and the birth of our nation by flying flags, gathering with family and friends for barbeques, and shooting fireworks; and

WHEREAS, the principles encompassed within the Declaration of Independence and for which our forefathers fought laid the foundation for freedom in these United States of America and became a universal standard for the liberty and autonomy across the globe; 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, I, Mayor Joseph L. Gibbons, on behalf of the City of Lenoir City Council, encourage all residents in Lenoir to read the Declaration of Independence, participate in Fourth of July activities, and remember the principles and convictions that led our forefathers to form a new nation and secure for all Americans the right to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

This the 3rd day of July 2023.

Joseph L. Gibbons, Mayor