Commemorative reading on the Fourth at Prickett's Fort
Jul. 5—FAIRMONT — In his best voice, Keith Kopshina, marched solemnly to the wooden stockades of Prickett's Fort and read the historic document that makes July 4 special.
A Revolutionary War re-enactor, Kopshina's interpretation of the Declaration of Independence gave everyone a taste of what it might have been like to hear those words in 1776.
"It stands for the freedom to choose your own path, breaking the bonds of tyranny, like the reading of the Declaration of Independence just said," Alvaro Nunez, one of the spectators, said.
Nunez was one of the several people who was at the Fort's annual reading of the declaration. The park puts the event on every year to commemorate the founding of the United States.
Nunez is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, giving the Fourth a special significance for him. He said the day gives him the opportunity to recognize that he served to protect the freedom that was declared back in 1776. To preserve that freedom is an ongoing experience and war against those seeking to suppress the freedom of others on the planet.
"People look up to us and ask us for their help to protect the freedom within their borders," he said. "That's one of the reasons I went to the Persian Gulf War, because I wanted to do my part as a born free person in the United States."
While watching the declaration be read aloud, Nunez said he tried to emulate the feelings he thought people in 1776 would have felt. That was the goal of Greg Bray, executive director of the Prickett's Fort Memorial Foundation. The group runs and maintains the park under a long-term contract with the state of West Virginia. Bray's goal when organizing the event was to maintain a certain level of fidelity to historical fact, so that visitors could have a chance to experience what hearing the news might have been like.
Originally, there were no events on the Fourth at the fort. When Bray became director in 2012, he sought to change that. The event has gone through a few different versions, from doing a reading a couple times a day, to doing a reading at the end of the month, which is historically how long it would have taken for the news to reach this area in West Virginia. Readings began at the fort sometime in either 2013 or 2014.
Around 50 people showed up for the event.
"If the Fourth of July falls on a weekend, we don't get as many people because they're traveling," he said. "Since this was a short holiday for most people, they want something to do before they picnic or before they go to fireworks or whatever."
Carol and Chris Craft were among the audience listening to the reading. Carol Craft said this was the first Fourth of July where she's been able to listen to the declaration be read out loud. Although she's used to large celebrations up in the Adirondack Mountains, listening to the declaration was what gave the holiday true meaning.
"The verbiage is important to us, the fact that we broke away from England and the whole war we fought," Carol Craft said. "The government's a mess right now, but it does give us a lot of privileges that we sort of take for granted these days."
After the ceremony was over, some people stuck around to explore the fort while others got into their cars and headed off to their events. The fort itself has a few events coming up, with free concerts on Friday through the rest of the month, and Colonial Kids Day, which gives children the opportunity to experience 18th century life through a child's eyes.
Donna Morgan and Gayla Wick were also among those who had come to hear the declaration be read.
"It was moving and really nice, he did such a great job and it's something that everybody should revisit from time to time," Wick said. "And if we don't know our history, we're liable to lose our democratic process."
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
