OUR VIEW: Here’s to another 250 years of Culpeper history

» Our town’s birthday celebration looks like it’s going to be an event to remember in Culpeper.

It’s finally here — the celebration of Culpeper’s 250th year of existence as a town.

It’s seems as though we’ve talked about the celebration for eons, but now that the time is here, it’s time to party. And, knock on wood, you couldn’t ask for more beautiful weather! We would like to commend the 250th Anniversary Committee for its hard work and expect to see a lot of folks enjoying the festivities.

The fact that Culpeper has made it this far is a tribute to the once little town. While growth has been slow at times, the town has lived through a boom this decade, and a diversity of people are now here to enjoy our celebration.

Some of today’s activities we’re really looking forward to include:

* Coleman Street Parade at 3:30 p.m. (Main Street was called Coleman Street in 1759.)
* “A Walk Through Time Picnic, Music and Old Time Games” at Yowell Meadow Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
* The Lord and Lady Culpeper Historic Costume Ball from 7 to 11 p.m. at Germanna’s Daniel Technology Center.

Sunday concludes with an ice cream social at the museum and a lesson on old-time religion at Culpeper Baptist.

We hope that our descendants can have as much fun celebrating the 500th anniversary of our quaint town. Mark your calendars. That’ll be in 2259.

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HOWARD MILLS: We need to say thank you to one of Culpeper’s most active senior citizens: Howard Mills is up for a Congressional Veteran Award for his service in the Navy during World War II.

As we all know, these veterans are a dying breed, and they are certainly one of our nation’s prized possessions. Their experiences, work ethic and can-do attitude helped lift our country out of a dark time, propelling it to a bright future.

Mills was a big part of that generation, and his contributions deserve to recognized. Thank you, Howard. For your service to America, you are a true hero.