On the main street of Cuba City, Wisc., there’s a Parade of Presidents, with decorative shields for each President, begun as a bicentennial project in 1976. Donna Rogers keeps it all going.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
At least two cities in the United States call themselves the city of presidents. Cuba City, Wisconsin, is one of them. Its Main Street features decorative shields, one for each president. It began as a bicentennial project in 1976. WUWM’s Susan Bence talks with the woman who keeps it going.
SUSAN BENCE, BYLINE: The red, white and blue shields, one for each president, sit high on poles on Cuba City’s Main Street. Donna Rogers, president of the ongoing project, points them out.
DONNA ROGERS: There’s Kennedy right there. Yeah, ’cause – what? – Johnson followed Kennedy.
BENCE: The parade of signs started in 1976 to commemorate the country’s bicentennial. Rogers admits, at the time, she wasn’t particularly tuned into the display.
ROGERS: I was raising three little boys and working at John Deere, so I didn’t really pay too much attention to community service at that time.
BENCE: But a few years later, she was tapped to help keep the initiative alive. Now she makes sure the city’s small presidential museum is kept in tiptop shape and that flags from every state are flown as part of the nation’s birthday celebration. When she thinks about the country’s history, she says the signing of the Declaration of Independence and freedom from slavery top her list.
ROGERS: And then, of course, now our nation’s 250th birthday, you know, I think those three would be the three most history important things to me. Right for women to vote – don’t forget that, right?
BENCE: And what she cherishes most?
ROGERS: Our national parks and our freedom to speak.
BENCE: Cuba City is pulling out all the stops for the 250th. Festivities include, of course, a parade, but also a mac and cheese fest.
ROGERS: That was some of our Founding Father’s favorite foods, along with turkey and cranberries and other items.
BENCE: She laughs and says she Googled that. True or not, Rogers says they’ll truly celebrate the holiday. For NPR News, I’m Susan Bence in the City of Presidents, Wisconsin.
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