Up here in the Northwoods, we know a thing or two about independence. But this spring, folks in Tomahawk are gathering to explore what freedom and democracy really meant 250 years ago — and what they mean today.
The Tomahawk Public Library is hosting a two–part America@250 community conversation series, bringing neighbors together to discuss the Revolutionary War era through the lens of a PBS documentary. The first session drew a mix of locals eager to unpack how the stories we tell about 1776 shape our understanding of American ideals.
In a region where community ties run deep and history echoes through our logging heritage, these conversations feel right at home.
Grant-Funded Dialogue in the Heart of Oneida County
Library Director Heidi O’Hare secured one of just 15 grants PBS Wisconsin awarded for these community events. The $500 funding covers everything needed to facilitate structured discussions around freedom, democracy, and service — themes drawn from PBS’s six-part documentary series on the American Revolution.
“PBS reached out to Wisconsinites to apply,” O’Hare explained. “With each topic they made an around 30-minute video, and then after that you discuss questions from the video.”
The format is simple but powerful. Twenty or so participants watch a documentary segment, then dive into guided questions. The first prompt hit home: “How does the way we tell this story of the American Revolution influence our understanding of freedom and democracy today?”
For O’Hare, the answer connects past and present. “Each generation solves their own problems and seeks their own answers to their questions, so I think the questions they asked then we are asking today,” she said. “I find that interesting.”
Whose Revolution? Whose Freedom?
Debra Durchslag, president of the League of Women Voters of the Northwoods, brought a critical perspective to the conversation. She pointed out that the storyteller matters as much as the story itself.
“Who’s telling the story really makes a difference,” Durchslag noted, “and how we understand the outcomes of the revolution and who succeeded and who had to wait a couple of hundred years to get their rights under the constitution.”
“In another 250 years I think people will want to read about” our stories today — Heidi O’Hare, Tomahawk Public Library Director
That nuance resonates in 2026, as Americans nationwide reckon with the Revolution’s complex legacy. The documentary doesn’t shy away from multiple perspectives — colonists, Indigenous peoples, enslaved individuals — all of whom experienced the birth of the nation differently.
Here in the Northwoods, where Ojibwe history intertwines with logging-era settlement, those layered narratives feel particularly relevant.
Building Community Through Civic Conversation
Tomahawk isn’t alone in this effort. Libraries across Vilas County are hosting similar PBS-funded conversations this spring, part of a statewide push toward the official semiquincentennial celebration on July 4, 2026.
The second Tomahawk session drops May 21, focusing on the theme of service. Registration is required — the library’s community room fills up fast when neighbors gather for thoughtful dialogue.
What makes these events work? A few key ingredients:
- Free admission removes barriers to participation
- Video format appeals to visual learners and mixed-age groups
- Structured questions keep discussions focused yet open-ended
- Diverse voices encouraged (interfaith, cultural, veteran perspectives)
- Small group size (around 20) fosters genuine exchange
In rural Oneida County, where the median age hovers around 50 and isolation can set in during long winters, these gatherings offer something precious: connection through shared inquiry.
Writing Today’s Story for Tomorrow’s Readers
O’Hare sees the America@250 project as more than looking backward. She’s thinking about what we’re leaving behind.
“I think it’s just as important in our 250th year to write our story now,” she said, “because in another 250 years I think people will want to read about it.”
That sentiment captures something essential about Northwoods character. We’re not just caretakers of lakes and forests — we’re stewards of stories, too. The same independent spirit that drove colonists to challenge an empire lives on in communities like Tomahawk, where neighbors still show up to hash out big questions over coffee and conversation.
The PBS documentary explores how 13 British colonies rose in rebellion between 1775 and 1783, establishing principles that still guide us. But those principles weren’t fully realized for everyone in 1776. They’re still being negotiated, expanded, refined.
Each generation, as O’Hare noted, asks its own version of the founding questions. What does freedom mean when your nearest neighbor is a mile down a dirt road? How does democracy function in towns of 1,200 souls? What service do we owe to the land that sustains us?
Looking Ahead to July 4, 2026
These library conversations are warmup acts for the main event. Come Independence Day, communities across America will mark 250 years of self-governance with everything from parades to reenactments to serious reflection.
In the Northwoods, we’ll likely do it our way — maybe a fish fry, definitely some fireworks over the lake, possibly a conversation or two about what it all means.
The America@250 commission has coordinated over 10,000 events nationwide, but the most meaningful ones happen in places like Tomahawk. Not because they’re flashy, but because they’re real. Neighbors gathering in a library on a Thursday evening to wrestle with ideas that shaped a nation — that’s democracy in action.
If you’re near Tomahawk on May 21, consider registering for the second conversation. Even if you can’t make it, think about what stories you’re telling about this moment. O’Hare’s right: someone 250 years from now will want to know what we made of our time in the Northwoods, how we understood freedom, what we chose to preserve.
That’s a conversation worth having, whether the topic is 1776 or 2026.
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