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 bicentennial celebration, Elkins began his enterprise to inspire children with a sense of state history, civic pride, and civic virtue. Mr. E. 2003 combines Ohio's statehood with the lessons Elkins learned during his involvement with its bicentennial. It includes inspiring explanations, comparisons, and quotations related to Ohio's past and present and the heartfelt moments that Elkins experienced in learning about the varied history of his state. Follow Elkins as he discovers that Ohio's statehood signifies more than any nickname, slogan, or establishment might suggest.