Happy Birthday & Welcome to the Friends' new blog

Happy Birthday to the Friends of Independence National Historical Park!  Today we turn 39 Years old.  Do you know that we were the first and therefore are the oldest Friends group in the National Park Service? 

When we look over the years our organization has been in existence, we can definitely correlate it to the human life span.  In the early 70’s we were in our infancy, everything we did was new and exciting.  We had lots of people cheering us on because the important thing was that we took that first step.  In the late 70’s we hit our pre-teens, when we had to expand our world, so the Friends came up with great programs like the Twilight Tour Guides and Philadelphia Open House. 

Fast forward through our teens.  We were like the valedictorian of the class with the Miracle of Philadelphia Project celebrating the Bicentennial of the Constitution.  In our 20’s we were running full steam, became adults and took on projects like Welcome Park.  Our organization continued to mature.  In our 30’s we slowed down some, calculated risks and made sure every move was the correct one for our future.  We may not have been buying our first home, but we were thinking of the future just the same and wondering if we were on the right path. 

Now we are 39. The Friends of Independence is embracing life and using that energy to revitalize our organization.  No longer will we be quiet and go about our day –to-day work.  Now is the time to get out there and be a part of this world.

Not only are we happy to be 39 years old, but we are looking forward to turning 40 and eventually 50 and beyond.  You should be excited too, because we have some great things planned for our future and the future of Independence National Historical Park!

Below is a picture of the day that we became an organization.  If you like what you read, please subscribe to our blog.   We love to count you as a web-Friend. Stay  tuned for more things to come.