Salem has a lot to celebrate, and it is doing so in style

It isn't over yet. You might say it has only just begun. The Salem Bicentennial celebration, that is.
At the age of 200, Salem is a city with strong Quaker roots and an enduring tradition of valuing independence, freedom and justice.
Appropriately, the city's bicentennial is being marked by a combination of events that fall into the category of good old fashioned fun and an extra week of Ohio Chautauqua events sponsored by the Ohio Humanities Council. Chautauqua takes its name from a New York lake where the movement was born in 1874.
Off and running
The city opened its three-week birthday bash in earnest last weekend with a grand ball, band concert, opening ceremonies and fireworks.
But a week before that, Bicentennial Queen Nicole Adamson was crowned by Jean Robush Kirk, the 1956 Sesquicentennial Queen. And in April, The Sesquicentennial time capsule, buried in 1956, was excavated. The Salem Historical Society Museum has been busy since it opened May 7 for the 34th season.
Though Salem may be small, as cities go, it has an abundance of history. It was founded in 1806 by Quakers, and a Quaker remains the mascot of the schools' sports teams. But the association with Quakers was a serious business in the early years. From the 1830s, Salem was an active stop on the Underground Railroad.
Untold numbers of slaves escaped from the South through Salem and the city was home to the Western Anti-Slavery Society's newspaper, the Anti-Slavery Bugle. The city was also the site of the first Women's Rights Convention in Ohio.
It has been home to artists, industrialists and entertainers over the years and many of those associations will or have been celebrated with special events (including a Rock 'n' Roll concert this Saturday afternoon and evening, which is dedicated to native son and legendary disc jockey Alan Freed).
Friday at 6 p.m. there will be the Parade of the Decades and Car Cruise-in. Over the weekend there will be a military encampment at Waterworth Memorial Park. The all-class reunion will also be held Saturday.
There are picnics, sidewalk sales, art shows, special events for children and numerous other activities leading up to the Bicentennial Grande Parade July 15 and the closing ceremonies and a performance by the Empire Statesmen Drum and Bugle Corps July 16.
After all that, Chautauqua
The Chautauqua events will run from July 18 through July 22 and will include workshops, lectures, plays and music.
Complete schedules of events are available on the Internet under tourism at www.salemohio.com or by clicking on the bicentennial logo on the chamber of commerce site, www.salemohiochamber.org.
The schedule is testament to the work that scores of volunteers have devoted to making these events a success. They are too many to name, but each has earned the gratitude of the community.
This is an exciting time for Salem and anyone who has had a connection with the city, past or present. It's also a good time for anyone from this area to enjoy the city's birthday party -- there's not likely to be another like it for another 50 years -- and to learn a bit about Salem's rich history.
After all the fun and educational activities are over, there will be one more thing: the burying of a new time capsule, one to be enjoyed by future generations. That will take place Sept. 23 at the Salem Public Library.