It was bigger and better than ever. This year's July Fourth celebrated the 227th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the 350th anniversary of the Town of Oyster Bay. There were other differences. This year, because of the heat, (last year three people fainted at the event) the festivities began at 10 a.m.; the speeches were short and the highlight of the day was the presentation of certificates to 35 town students. It was a poster, essay and poetry contest to celebrate the Town of Oyster Bay's 350th Anniversary. The idea was generated by Oyster Bay Town Historian Dorothy Horton McGee and the judging was done at her home by the members of the Bicentennial Commission of which she is the chair.

This year instead of using the Derby-Hall bandstand, a replica of the one President Theodore Roosevelt spoke from, as the stage, the dignitaries used the Town showmobile. It afforded everyone a good view of the speakers and the children. The center of the street had folding chairs set up for many of the guests, including Town Historian Ms. McGee, but most of the viewers stood throughout the event. All around the edge of the area between the Oyster Bay Post Office and Town Hall East stood the Rough Riders on horseback, and local veteran and community groups who had marched to the spot.

When Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto presented certificates to the 35 school children who won the 350th Anniversary contest he called out each name and had the other dignitaries present the awards. They were Captain John "Turk" Green, commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier; Dr. John Gable, executive director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association; James Foote, TR impersonator; Assemblyman Steve Labriola and Receiver of Taxes James Stefanich. The first to receive their awards were the Kindergarteners, second-graders and ESL students who created birthday cards for the town.

In his talk, Mr. Venditto reminded the listeners of what our veterans and forefathers did: "If we are to forget that sacrifice we will diminish and lose that quality of life we have here in this town."

The Oyster Bay Community Band played the Sagamore Hill March and its composer, Donald Luckenbill, came up and shook hands with conductor Steven Walker.

Supervisor Venditto named all the veterans and community groups who took part in the ceremony and this year, the Korean War Veterans got a big hand from the crowd. Mr. Venditto also complimented the many residents of Oyster Bay for attending the ceremony. He introduced USS TR Commander, Captain John L. "Turk" Green, who said he was grateful for the outpouring of support in the form of e-mails and letters sent to his ship during its deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom. "We launched over 2,000 sorties and dropped a million pounds of ordinance. There are 3,300 men and women aboard the TR." He invited residents to visit Norfolk, Virginia, where they could tour the 1,100 foot ship.

Mr. Venditto reminded listeners of the freedoms we enjoy, which include, "our right to assemble and say what we like and we can enjoy various forms of entertainment." He said, "Around the globe, as we speak, because of the interesting times we live in, young men and women put themselves in harm's way to protect all the freedoms we have."

He introduced Dr. John Gable who said, "This year there are a galaxy of anniversaries. There is the 350th anniversary of the Town of Oyster Bay; it is the 50th anniversary of Raynham Hall Museum and the 50th anniversary of the opening of Sagamore Hill as a museum. It is also the centennial of communications. On July 4, 1903, TR sent the first transglobal message. He began the day speaking in Huntington. At 11 p.m. that night, by the light of a kerosene lamp, he sent a message to his office in Oyster Bay and in 12 minutes that message came back to him at Sagamore Hill." It was a history making moment that opened this information century.

He said, "The heritage we have is so great because of the people who came before us, creating great institutions like Raynham Hall Museum and Sagamore Hill." It is our job to see that they should continue, he said.

James Foote, speaking as TR, was the next speaker. Looking around the crowd, he used the words of Theodore Roosevelt to say, "The children of Oyster Bay seem all right in quality as well as quantity." To Captain Green, he said, "Pleased to see the commander of my new "big stick." He quoted TR, saying that, "A highly trained navy is the best protection against war."

Theodore Roosevelt is the president credited for making the United States a world power. Mr. Foote ended by quoting TR's belief that all civilized nations insist on proper policing of the world, which got applause from the crowd. He ended by saying, "We all (without regard to color) have equal rights and obligations and an allegiance, to the Stars and Stripes."

The supervisor introduced Master of Ceremonies John Bruckner, commander of the VFW Post 8033, who closed the ceremonies with a thank you to parade chairman American Legion Commander Alex Plumb. He told the troops to march back to the Oyster Bay Community Center, which started the second parade of the day, as they all returned to Townsend Square.