This is the 225th anniversary of the signing of the document, which was reportedly done at 4 p.m. on Sept. 17, 1787. After the signing was announced church bells rang and people shot cannons and rifles in celebration.
The Sanford Museum along with the Sallie Harrison Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution joined in the Bells Across America event by ringing bells outside of the museum at 4 p.m. Monday in honor of the holiday.
With the group was Fort Mellon Society Children of the America Revolution and Cub Scout Pack 32.
Sanford’s Assistant City Attorney Lonnie Groot also spread the word about Constitution Day by speaking before two groups Monday.
During a lunch celebration, Groot spoke to students on a legal panel at Seminole State College, where he also serves as a member of the adjunct faculty.
The panel discussion related to the importance of each individual citizen to protect the constitutional freedoms of all citizens under a living document. Seminole County Attorney Bryant Applegate and the Chair of the Legal Studies Program at Seminole State College, Jordan Camenker joined him on the panel.
Later in the day Groot spoke to third-graders at Ivy Hawn Charter School of the Arts in Lake Helen on the need for all citizens to participate in their government and to cherish the freedom of the individual in a democratic society – as promised by the Constitution.
Constitution Week runs from Sept. 17 to 23 and was enacted by President Dwight Eisenhower from a congressional resolution petition by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The purpose of the observance week is to promote study and education about the constitution.