Mon Feb 08 2010
By JACK PALMER
Call it Stars and Stripes, Old Glory or the "Star-Spangled Banner."
Whatever the moniker, the United States flag will mark its 232nd birthday Sunday with numerous observances around Ohio and the nation.
Locally, Defiance Elks Lodge 147 will host an outdoor public Flag Day ceremony at 1:30 p.m., with city historian Randy Buchman serving as guest speaker. The lodge is located at 1760 S. Jefferson Ave. (Ohio 66).
The Defiance College Community Band, under the direction of Vince Polce, will open the program with about 30 minutes of inspirational music.
"We are pleased to provide this service for Elks Lodge 147," said Polce. "We will be performing many patriotic selections to include a salute to our military men and women as well as a tribute to our nation's flag."
The color guard will be provided by VFW Post 3360 and an explanation and history of the various flags will be given as they are presented by Boy Scout Troop 75. Pete Schlosser will serve as special guest vocalist, while Jan Kaiser will serve as organist and Jamie Blank will provide the sound system. Other participants include Elks 147 exalted ruler Ron Yaw, Americanism co-chairmen Jim Tingle and Charlie Beard and other lodge officers.
Following the ceremony, free hamburgers and hot dogs will be served by the Herman Hesselschwardt Detachment of Marine Corps League.
"We encourage everyone to come out for this family event. You don't have to be an Elks member to attend," said Tingle. "We especially invite all veterans and the families of current members of our armed services."
If Sunday's weather conditions prevent the ceremony from being held outside, it will be moved inside the lodge.
The American flag's final design, established by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777, began with 13 stripes of alternating red and white and 13 white stars in a blue field.
The idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the flag is believed to have first originated in 1885, when Wisconsin teacher B.J. Cigrand arranged for his students to observe June 14 as flag birthday.
Patriotism has characterized the Elks organization of the United States since its early days and in 1907, the BPOE Grand Lodge designated June 14 as Flag Day by resolution. Four years later, it adopted mandatory observance of the occasion by every lodge, a requirement that continues to this day.
The Elks also prompted President Woodrow Wilson to recognize the orders' observance of Flag Day for patriotic expression. However, it was not until 1949 when President Harry Truman, himself an Elks member, signed legislation designating June 14 of each year as National Flag Day.
"The flag represents the cardinal principle of our lodge -- charity," said Beard. "It's so much of what we do."
The U.S. flag still has 13 alternating red and white stripes, with each stripe representing one of the 13 original colonies. The flag has 50 stars, with the last one added for Hawaii in 1960.
Instructions on the proper disposal of old, worn and damaged flags and guidance on proper flag display are available from the Elks as well as VFW, American Legion and other veterans organizations.
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