PRIEST RIVER — With a sharp, repeated clang, the bell called Bonner County residents to listen.

"When in the Course of human events," Meagan Mize, West Bonner Library District director, read, breaking the silence, "it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them…"

With those words began the reading of the Declaration of Independence with roughly 50 Bonner County residents called by the bell to hear the document that firmly set the United States on its journey as an independent nation — much like residents of the former colonies had 250 years earlier.

The once-in-a-generation event saw communities throughout the United States turning out at the same time on July 8 — from Hawai'i to New York, and from Florida to Idaho — to hear the Declaration read aloud.

"Today, along with communities across the United States, and around the world, we are participating in sharing the spirit of America, a coordinated effort to read the Declaration aloud at the same moment in time," Mize told those gathered for the event. "This initiative honors the historic day of July 8, 1776, when the Declaration was first read publicly in Philadelphia, proclaiming the colony's independence to the people."

Now, 250 years later, Americans again gathered at libraries, civic spaces, parks and museums, recreating that shared moment in history. The initiative, the brainchild of the Hawai'i America 250 Commission, saw 1,133 locations participate encompassing all 50 states, Washington, D.C., U.S. territories and minor outlying islands. There were 46 readings outside the United States and on all seven continents; in total, the reading spanned nearly 9,500 miles and multiple time zones.

According to the commission's website, locations included Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration was first signed and publicly read, to the grave of the Marquis de Lafayette in Paris. The founding document was read on courthouse steps, at public libraries and in private homes.

"This remarkable event serves as a powerful symbol of our shared history and enduring unity," Mize told the crowd. "It is my hope that this local observance invites each of us to pause, reflect, and engage with the words that help define a nation."

The reading offers a chance to reconnect with the "enduring ideals of liberty, equality, and self-governance" while participating in a shared national experience that reminds us that "we're all part of something larger than ourselves," the library director said.

Taking turns reading the Declaration were Mize, Priest River Mayor Jeff Connolly, Idaho Rep. Mark Sauter, WBLD program director Christa Shanaman and local resident Patricia Sudick. As did early Americans, they read the words outlining the former colonists' grievances and asserting the unalienable rights of all people — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

A member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mize said she knew the West Bonner Library District had to participate as soon as she heard about the program.

On one side, she has 33 relatives who served in the Revolutionary War. And on the other, her mother is a first-generation Irish American.

"You could say that freedom runs in my DNA," Mize said. "I believe that the foundation of this country is wonderful and beautiful, and I think people need to remember."

Her eight-times-great-grandfather Stephen Hopkins signed the Declaration as a representative of Rhode Island; Mize was able to read his name at the event. Her sixth great-grandfather, John See, served at Valley Forge, answering directly to Lafayette and George Washington. 

In addition to the historical connections, Shanaman said library officials loved that the reading offered it a chance to showcase that libraries are more than a repository of books, they are living, breathing entities.

"We're always looking for opportunities that are beyond what most people think of as a typical library," she added.

Like in the first readings in 1776, a bell called community members to hear the important news: that former colonies were now their own nation, the United States of America.

Mize said a friend of the library, Brian Hogan, offered to bring a bell to the reading to ensure today's residents got a chance to experience the reading as the first Americans did.

Following the reading, the library took part in Community Conversations, a nationwide initiative held to discuss issues and democracy.

"The idea is to bring people back in understanding that we may not agree on everything, but we can recognize humanity in each other by actually having conversations," Mize said.

    Idaho Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, reads from the Declaration of Independence on July 8 — 250 years after it was first read in Philadelphia — at a special reading in Priest River.
  

    Bill Lewis (dressed as James Madison) listens as the Declaration of Independence is read in Priest River on July 8. The event was one of more than 1,100 simultaneous reading throughout all 50 states and around the world.
  

    Priest River Mayor Jeff Connolly reads from the Declaration of Independence on July 8. The community was one of more than 1,110 locations around the world that reenacted the first reading of the founding document of America in 1776.
  

    Patricia Sudick reads from the Declaration of Independence on Wednesday, July 8.