Since January 1, the Skagit County Historical Museum has been undergoing some “cosmetic enhancements” in the form of new paint and carpeting. The general public will have the opportunity to admire the results on February 11, which is when the museum will open its first exhibit of 2022, entitled “1968: The Year that Rocked Washington.”

Having graduated high school in San Jose, California in 1969, I remember 1968 really well. For one thing, it was the year I registered for the draft. I immediately received a student deferment that I kept until the lottery number I drew during my junior year in college lifted the pall of Vietnam from my life — as would be the case for all eligible young American men when the last chopper lifted off the roof of the American embassy, ending a long and troubled chapter in 20th Century American history. 1968 was a watershed year in that conflict — as it was in many other ways in our American life.

I’m looking forward to seeing the museum exhibit, and in coming away from it with a more profound understanding of how the events of a single year were felt in the state I now call home. In the meantime, I thought it would be useful to offer some broader context — so I’m going to depart from my usual “Magic Skagit-centric” discourse and reflect on what made The Year of Our Lord 1968 worth the subject of a local museum exhibit.

The approach that I’m taking is similar to the one I adopted a few years back when Meyer Sign commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Through a series that matched the number of days of that historic event from launch to splash down, we took a deep dive into aspects of the Apollo mission that didn’t typically make it into the more familiar narrative.

I’d like to do the same with regard to the historical museum’s 1968 exhibit, but based on some of the larger themes that unfolded over the course of one year: the Generation Gap and the cultural divides it revealed, Vietnam, civil rights, the assassinations of two of the most prominent public figures in America, the dawn of the Information Age, and the role of cinema and music in transforming the American gestalt of the mid-20th Century. And did I mention that there was a pandemic that year as well?

So just to get this party started, let me reach out to our beloved Meyer Sign followers. In the very first episode of our Apollo 11 series, I asked the question, “What were you doing the night we watched Neil Armstrong take his first steps on the Moon?” Many of you shared your memories with us, and we’d like to invite you to do the same in answering this question: “What do you remember most about 1968?” I’m looking forward to your responses, and to being one of the first in line for this coming Friday’s Skagit County Historical Museum re-opening. Also, keep an eye on our Meyer Sign Facebook page, where we’ll be posting 1968 trivia on a regular basis throughout the series.

Hang on, folks, it’s going to be a wild ride. Love, peace…and power to the people!