By Lauren C. Ostberg

Paul Revere’s midnight ride ended in Lexington 235 years ago, but Somerville remembers it like it was yesterday.

‚ÄúWe have a rich sense of history; that‚Äôs what makes us an All-America City,‚Äù said Mayor  Joseph A. Curatone, whose words followed the Somerville High School Marching Band‚Äôs rendition of ‚ÄúYankee Doodle,‚Äù and paired well with the relentlessly patriotic red, white, and blue bandstand d√©cor. 

In addition to its place along Revere’s route, Somerville is home to the first American flag, planted in Prospect Hill on January 1, 1776, and the historical ammunition facility at Powder House Park.

This Patriots’ Day, and for the nine years previous, a crowd of well-wishers spent the morning in Foss Park to see Paul Revere and his horse, Brown Beauty, along his historic route.

While they waited, adults snacked on colonial treats of cornbread and apple butter, and children cycled through nine period games, hoping for an end prize.

J. Brandon Wilson, Executive Director of the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission and the creative force behind this event, smoothed her cape as she described the focus of the event: “It’s an event to celebrate this historical occasion, kind of a fun way to remind them what it’s all about, to go back in time, and maybe to appreciate the sacrifices people had to make back then.”

In the grass of Foss Park, children played games with spinning tops, wooden hoops, jump ropes, ring tosses, and string cats’ cradles. At each station, volunteers in period costume stamped the children's colonial passports. Those who completed all five stations earned a wooden whistle.

Debbie Wilson, who attended the event with her daughter, Rebecca, and her mother, Annie, remembers the park as a major part of her own childhood.

Sheri Christensen, of Medford, created a new family tradition when she asked the Oregon-based branch of her nuclear family to visit over this long weekend.

“It’s so different from the West – history is so important here,” said Mariann Adams, Sheri’s mother, who was enjoying the “lovely day.”

After answering her tricorn-adorned son’s question about the fate of Revere’s horse, Sheri said, “I didn’t know what to expect, really, but this is my new favorite holiday.”