GEORGE — The patriotic observance in George on the Fourth of July drew a crowd of about 300 people. Not bad for a town with a population around 500, but still not the level of turnout that George is used to on Independence Day.

The annual celebration in the town named for America’s first president usually draws hordes of people for music, food, fun runs and what’s billed as the world’s largest cherry pie. But this year, COVID-19 put the kibosh on the big celebration, and organizers had to settle for what they could manage under the statewide restrictions.

“Back in April and May, our board started scratching our heads,” said director Debby Kooy. “Every year we have this event that attracts maybe a couple of thousand people. We have a very large, multifaceted event. And then how do we just not do that? We didn’t want to just drop it like a hot potato, because we’ve been doing it since 1957. So we just decided to pare it down and have the bare essentials. Now, some people think our giant cherry pie is an essential, but we decided to just have the patriotic observance and the fireworks.”

The morning started with a flag presentation, 21-gun salute and the ringing of the Freedom Bell before the flag was raised. The Pledge of Allegiance followed, of course, and the National Anthem was sung by Dale Hille. A group calling itself “The George Community Hall Ensemble” then read a group composition written by Kooy called “What liberty means” from the park’s outdoor stage.

“Liberty means that we have the freedom to do good,” read one speaker. “Freedom to choose,” said another. “Freedom to uphold the rule of law,” said a third, then all said in unison “Freedom to speak truth!” Freedoms to speak opinions openly, to contribute to charity or not, to pursue education, to answer the call of duty, and more.

The first speaker was state Sen. Judy Warnick, who discussed the recent rifts in the American political scene.

“Our freedoms are being attacked,” she said. “There are people who would like to not have us gather here today. But we need to. We need to hear the Pledge, we need to see the flag raised, we need to hear those poems, and I think now it’s much like during the 1860s during the Civil War era. We’re being attacked from within. We can overcome that just like we did in the Civil War.”

Next up was state Rep. Alex Ybarra, a native of Quincy. Ybarra spoke of the people of George and the response they gave on Thanksgiving 2018 when an accident left a busload of University of Washington band students stranded. The Quincy School District superintendent opened George Elementary School for the stranded students. People brought food from their own homes, Ybarra said, and when that wasn’t enough the school kitchen crew came down to provide meals.

“That’s what America’s all about,” Ybarra said. “That’s what this town is all about. This is why this community is so special to me, having been born and raised here.”

State Rep. Tom Dent gave the keynote address, discussing Gov. Jay Inslee’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. Dent acknowledged that the governor had the authority to respond as he did but assured the crowd that work was underway to change that.

“Myself and several other legislators have legislation put together to take this power away, This is too much power. Just in case you get to be governor, Loren,” Dent said, referring to Loren Culp, a Republican candidate for governor who was at the event, “you’re not going to have this much power. We’re going to take it away from you. Not that we don’t love you. We just don’t trust you, that’s all.”

Culp was the final speaker, introducing himself to a cheering crowd and talking of his love for America and for Washington state, where he has lived all his life except for his time in the Army. Culp served with the 101st Airborne, he said, and also with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea. He spoke of a time when the South Korean and U.S. militaries held an annual large-scale joint exercise.

“Whenever we got close to one of these little villages,” he said, “everyone in the village, especially all the little kids, would come running out to the dirt road and they would line up and they would hold little American flags. They would hold them in one hand and wave to us with the other hand. It was absolutely heartwarming to see something like that.”

“They didn’t care what race we were inside those trucks,” he continued. “They didn’t care whether we were male or female. They didn’t care whether we were Democrat or Republican or independent or anything. All they knew, and all they cared about, was that we represented the United States of America, the most free country in the world. And we had come over there and given them their independence with the blood of Americans, and fought against the Chinese and the North Koreans to free them. That was absolutely amazing. And that’s what America stands for around the world. And I am so proud to be an American.”