Two Lights for Tomorrow

On April 18th, the City of Medina hosted Two Lights for Tomorrow, a nationwide initiative to commemorate what happened on the night of Friday, April 18, 1775, which became the beginning of the Revolutionary War. This was the date of Paul Revere’s famous ride through Middlesex County, Massachusetts to alert the Minutemen of the impending attack from the British forces, and whether they would come by land or by sea. This was one of the events happening in 2025 as we count down to 2026, and the city’s year-long celebration of the nation’s 250th birthday.

Medina citizens and visitors of all ages were invited to gather with their lanterns in the Medina Square on Friday, April 18, at 8:30 pm. Sybil Ludington, aka Medina’s Eleanor Kristan, shared the famous poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride”, that was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1860, 85 years after the event. Also present was William Dawes, aka Medina’s Charles Ramer, a tanner by trade and member of the Boston militia. Dawes, who was actually one of several men that rode at the same time as Paul Revere on April 18th, shared with attendees what actually happened on this important date in history. Paul Revere himself, aka Samuel Bohner, made an appearance looking for the signal lights in the church tower.

Leading up to this event, during the week of April 14th, the Medina Library hosted a craft project for children, at which they made their own lanterns to bring to the park on the evening of April 18.

Medina Gazette Article: Paul Revere's Ride commemorated in Medina 250 years later