Mr. E. 2003: Manifest Lessons from Ohio's Bicentennial Celebration

In 2003, Ohio celebrated the bicentennial of its inauguration as the seventeenth state of the United States. It incited citizens from eighty-eight counties to celebrate the two-hundredth anniversary of Ohio’s heritage.

In his memoir, author Keith A. Elkins, known as Mr. E. to his fourth-grade students, tells of how, inspired by his state’s momentous celebration, he discovered an opportunity to animate his original puppet production, G. C.’s Loose Caboose Revue. In 1999, leading up to Ohio’s...