06/10/2026
June 18 USA 250 History Program Uncovers Hidden Stories of Symbols and Artifacts -- Mason Area Historical Society president Charlie Herrick is the featured speaker on “The Symbols of our Republic” at the MAHS general meeting on Thursday, June 18, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will take place in the Virginia Schlichter Auditorium at the Mason museum, located at 200 E. Ash Street in downtown Mason. Admission is free and the public is invited.
As an amateur local historian, Charlie Herrick has uncovered many stories behind some of our most famous national monuments and artifacts. At the meeting, he will share some of these stories, including ones about the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, and the Liberty Bell.
During the early years of the American Revolution, British forces were advancing toward Philadelphia. Patriot leaders feared that if the British captured the city, they would seize the famous Liberty Bell. To keep it out of British hands, it was quietly taken down and loaded onto a wagon and transported north out of the city.
The Liberty Bell eventually reached the town of Allentown. There it was hidden beneath the floorboards of a local church. Workers concealed the bell in a crawlspace beneath the sanctuary. For nearly nine months, the bell remained concealed there while the British occupied Philadelphia.
After the British abandoned Philadelphia in June 1778, the danger passed. The Liberty Bell was brought back to the Pennsylvania State House (today known as Independence Hall). The bell survived to later become a powerful symbol of freedom, abolition, civil rights, and American independence.
Charlie Herrick will end his presentation with the distribution of copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the Bill of Rights. Audience members should be ready to ask questions about these founding documents and share stories about our nation’s founding.
