It Started As Homework. Fifty Years Later, They’re Still Singing It.

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It’s 1975. The United States is coming off the Vietnam War, which involved a heavily opposed military draft, mass casualties, and major economic distress. Watergate had just fractured the trust between the public and government. Americans needed something to believe in, something to celebrate. And a resurgence of patriotism spread across a small, secluded town in Alabama, thanks to a group of fourth graders.

Susan Holdridge was a 33-year-old teacher at Laurel Elementary School in Alexander City, Alabama. Like many teachers at the start of their career, she was eager, she was energetic, and she assigned tasks that went beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic.

The bicentennial was still more than a year away, but preparations and excitement were already building. America was getting ready to turn 200! To honor the country’s milestone, Mrs. Holdridge tasked the nine- and 10-year-olds with writing poems about America. Then a “song committee” turned the words of the poem into a song, “My Grand American Home.”

It came together on a single sheet of paper in cursive writing. Stanza by stanza the students put the poems together like a puzzle. It seemed to come together smoothly with barely any notes in the margins.

“I do remember telling them about the White Cliffs of Dover because we needed a place name that rhymed with over for the first verse, but everything else came directly from the students,” Mrs. Holdridge told The Daily Wire.

The chorus reads:
“I love America so
I will never never go
It’s a grand old place
You can tell by my face
I love America so.”

The assignment that was meant to sharpen her class’s literacy skills turned out to be a pretty impressive song in Mrs. Holdridge’s eyes, but the teacher wasn’t the only one pleased with the students’ work.

Credit: Cindy Blake

A few adults were called on to put the lyrics to music, and a local church agreed to provide a piano and choir loft. Just like that, “My Grand American Home” was recorded on a cassette tape.

“I still remember all these years later hearing our song on the local radio station in 1976 and thinking we were famous,” Cindy Blake, one of the fourth graders, told The Daily Wire.

But the story doesn’t end there.

As the classmates recall, the bicentennial celebration of the country was a proud time for Americans. Streets were decorated, flags flew high in the sky, and it seemed everyone wanted to celebrate the greatest country in the land. The buildup for America’s 200th birthday was years in the making, so the fourth graders had plenty of time to perform “My Grand American Home.”

It’s a shame no one really knows exactly how the next parts of the song’s journey came to be. As Mrs. Holdridge put it, word travels fast in a small town. In any case, all that mattered was that this patriotic project made its way down to Alabama’s capital city, Montgomery, and onto Governor George Wallace’s desk.

“As Governor of Alabama, I commend you for your recording of ‘My Grand American Home,’” Wallace sent via telegraph. “I think you are great for undertaking this project and congratulate you on your success.”

Credit: Cindy Blake

That was a token of appreciation the fourth graders would hold onto throughout their lives. The lifelong friends still often broke out in the song every time they would hang out. I know all this because my mom, Cindy Blake, is in this group of fourth graders, and she has made it her mission to give the song new life in 2026.

My mom’s best friend, David McGhee, held on to the scrapbook of memories Mrs. Holdridge made, including the telegraph from Governor Wallace, the lyrics, the printed music, and a copyright certificate at his furniture store in town.

“He got the word out to our classmates that he had it and we could drop by and see the treasure,” Blake said.

Unfortunately, McGhee died during the COVID-19 pandemic and his furniture store burned down shortly after, destroying the scrapbook of “My Grand American Home.”

That was another reason my mom wanted so badly to give this song new life.

A few phone calls were made and Facebook messages were sent, and 23 of the original group of fourth graders were around to rerecord with their teacher, 84-year-old Mrs. Holdridge, whose idea started it all.

“We gathered at First Baptist Church, on June 14, 2026, on the same stage we made the original recording by pressing the record button on a cassette player, but on this day, we pressed record on our iPhone,” Blake said. “We practiced once and were ready to go. Our voices filled the church sanctuary. There was more pride the second time.”

“Meeting back at the same church to rerecord was absolutely amazing,” Holdridge said. “Seeing my fourth-grade students from 50 years ago was so special. They were wonderful students then and are wonderful adults now. I loved them then and I love them now. Many good memories brought tears to my eyes.”

The simple song evokes American pride and reminds the group, now in their 60s, how important it is to share that feeling with the younger folks.

“What I love about America? I can freely choose who and what I want to be without limitations,” Nancy Patrick Holley told The Daily Wire. “I am free to choose the life I want to live, most of all, I can walk in my beliefs and my faith.”

The group didn’t wear their matching white shirts and red bandanas like they did in 1975, instead opting for a more personalized patriotic look. The First Baptist Church sanctuary didn’t have the same maroon carpet on the stage or pews; it’s more modern now with new floors and paint. But the feeling the class felt decades ago was the same.

“For a few minutes, we weren’t retirees, grandparents, or professionals — we were Mrs. Holdridge’s fourth graders again,” Karen Carr said.

“This time when we sang, we put the politics and opposing views, which surround us every day, aside and sang about ‘Our Grand American Home’ with deep pride,” Blake said.

Same lyrics, remastered and renewed all for America’s 250th birthday. The class of 1983 knows that with technology, more people can hear the words that still bring them so much joy.

“We love our country even when we’re sad.
We don’t give up when the going gets bad.
No place on Earth is like the place of my birth.
My Grand American Home.”

“Of course, I would love for us to perform it for the president and celebrate our 250th birthday in a grand way,” Sharon Blair said. “I know that will not happen, but it is an endearing story of a class that always comes together and loves each other!”

“We would even love to share the song with the president, at the White House,” Blake added. “I can envision my teacher, Mrs. Holdridge; my classmates; and I surrounding the president sitting at his desk in the Oval Office while he signs a proclamation declaring ‘My Grand American Home’ a national treasure,” Blake added.

(Look, my mom shoots for the moon, okay?)

That American dream aside, what the class really wants to come from the rerecording is for today’s generation to know that with a little creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, learning is fun and lasts a lifetime. And, of course, the class wants this song to encourage others to love their country too!

“If this project inspires others to value their school memories, reconnect with old friends, or appreciate the educators who influenced them,” Carr said, “then it will have accomplished something meaningful.”