The Mastic–Moriches–Shirley Community Library in Long Island, New York, is urgently searching for a recording of the video I filmed during the July 4, 1976 parade celebrating the bicentennial of U.S. independence from the United Kingdom.
Unfortunately, the only references that remain are a few clippings from local newspapers (no longer in existence), such as the Moriches Bay Tide and the Long Island Advance, along with the names of the people involved. Librarians are now trying to track some of them down in preparation for the major event “America250: 1776–2026” this coming July 4.
The bicentennial parade (described by the national daily Newsday as the best parade since the time of the American Revolution) had been organized by the American Legion, the national U.S. association of war veterans. The video of the parade that I recorded was later donated by the association and preserved at the Mastic–Moriches–Shirley Community Library. The video was part of my television program Made in Italy, which aired weekly on the Suffolk Cablevision channel of Viacom (now Paramount), and complemented my radio programs on WSUF-AM, WLIX-AM, and WBAB AM and FM.
My interest in the Fourth of July celebration was also tied to the hospitality and opportunities that America has offered to Italian immigrants, allowing talents to grow and evolve at every level – artistic, scientific, academic, economic, and social. Talents that, in turn, have enriched Italy as a whole. In my case, America enabled me, after only a few years of living there, to create the magazine VideoAge, which would go on to become one of the leading publications covering both Hollywood and the global entertainment industry, and which over time has also helped promote Italian audiovisual works and talent in the performing arts. This is something that would have been impossible to achieve in a small town in Abruzzo like my hometown of Giulianova.
