National Flag Week /4

NATIONAL FLAG WEEK

CYPRESS PARK

POCOMOKE CITY, MARYLAND

The only time a flag should be allowed to twist and turn is when it dances in the wind.B



What you may not know:

Superintendent Bill East of the Dept. of Public Works for Pocomoke City along with his crew are responsible for the large flag in Cypress Park and the flags displayed along the sidewalk in downtown Pocomoke City.

Bill tries to keep two flags on hand at all times in case one becomes damaged. He tries to make sure the flag has been taken down when high winds are predicted so there will be no damage to the flag or the pole. But Eastern Shore weather is not always pretictable and it's not always convenient to lower a 20' x 30' American flag under any circumstances. Flags of this size are pricey Bill and his crew, because of their special care for the flag, are helping to save the city tax dollars and always making sure that we are able to enjoy the greatest symbol of our country.

Thanks Bill! And thank you to your crew of great workers who make sure the American flag is protected. It is always the first thing I look for when I am downtown...before the red light!

NATIONAL FLAG WEEK/3

NATIONAL FLAG WEEK

Photo was taken from inside the restaurant on March 16, 2012. I couldn't wait for the windows to be installed to take this photo! B

Here's some flag news you may not know.....

The American flag in Cypress Park measures 20' x 30'. Although the flags have never been weighed it is guessed that any of the flags will weigh close to 60 pounds. It takes at least three men to handle a flag of this size making sure it never touches the ground. The term for the task of raising and lowering the flag is "striking the colors". (please correct me if this is incorrect)

~FLAG DAY~

....And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
~Francis Scott Key~

From the National Anthem

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.”

“The flag of the United States” replaced the words “my Flag” in 1923 because some foreign-born people might have in mind the flag of the country of their birth instead of the United States flag. A year later, “of America” was added after “United States.”

No form of the Pledge received official recognition by Congress until June 22, 1942, when the Pledge was formally included in the U.S. Flag Code. The official name of The Pledge of Allegiance was adopted in 1945. The last change in language came on Flag Day 1954, when Congress passed a law, which added the words “under God” after “one nation.”

Originally, the pledge was said with the right hand in the so-called “Bellamy Salute,” with the right hand resting first outward from the chest, then the arm extending out from the body. Once Hitler came to power in Europe, some Americans were concerned that this position of the arm and hand resembled the Nazi or Fascist salute. In 1942 Congress also established the current practice of rendering the pledge with the right hand over the heart.

The Flag Code specifies that any future changes to the pledge would have to be with the consent of the President.

On June 14, 1777, in order to establish an official flag for the new nation, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: "Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation."

http://www.wvsd.uscourts.com/

100 People Become Official U.S. Citizens Today

WILLIAMSBURG — —The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation will host a naturalization ceremony Monday for Flag Day.

More than 100 people will officially become United States citizens. Taylor Reveley, president of the College of William and Mary will be the event's feature speaker.

Federal Judge Mark S. Davis will preside over the ceremony. Jackie Spangler, a direct descendant of John Rolfe and Pocahontas and president of the National Society of the Colonial Dames XVII Century, the Rev. James Blair Chapter, will deliver the Pledge of Allegiance, according to a release.

www.dailypress.com

FLAG DAY - Remember And Honor Our Flag Today

In May of 1776 Betsy Ross was sought out by three men of great notoriety to be the seamstress for the United States Flag. Those three men were George Washington, Robert Morris and George Ross. George Washington was the leader of the Continental Army at this time, Robert Morris was perhaps the wealthiest man at the time, and George Ross was relation; in fact her late husband’s Uncle. Betsy had even done some sewing for George Washington before. These men’s ideas for the flag included stripes and a five-point star. By June 14, 1777 just a little over a year later much had taken place. On this day Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the flag of the United States.


Bernard J. Cigrand Vision of Flag Day

Bernard J. Cigrand /strong>was a young teacher in 1885 who envisioned a day of remembrance and observance for the United States Flag. On June 14, 1885 he put the flag in jar on his desk and asked his class to write an essay about the flag and what it meant to them. Finally, after many years of hard work Bernard J. Cigrand’s vision came true when President Wilson issued a proclamation calling for a nation wide observance of Flag Day on May 30, 1916. Then in 1940 President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating the 14th of June every year as National Flag Day.


www.americanhistorysuite101.com

PLEASE FLY YOUR FLAG WITH PRIDE TODAY