East Cleveland leader. [volume] (East Cleveland, Ohio) 1942-1970, 1960-06-09
T H | 8
I H A T
In Our Town

FLAG DAY. Tuesday, June
14th, is Flag Day and all
Americans are afforded an op-
portunity to fly our newest So
star flag! Of course, if you get
down to splittin' hairs land we
do.) the new Stars and Stripes
is technically not official until
Hawaii is officially admitted
as State on July 4th. But
fly it and fly it proudly.
Of course, if you happen to
have a little 4S-Star banner
or even one of the later 49 vari-
ETY. with 40 stars, fly it
and fly it proudly!
Flag Day commentaries the
adoption of our flag back in
1777. 1t was in 1895 that June
14th was first designated as
Flag Day, through the efforts
Of DR.. B. J. Cigrand of Batavia,
Ill.
According to the traditional
story, Betsy Ross is said to have
made a Stars and Stripes flag
from a sketch made by George
Washington, but, so says the
story, she changed his stars
from six to five-pointed. Of
course this makes a nice story
but facts don't seem to bear
it out.
FLAG DESIGN. Francis
Hopkinson, designer of several
coins and paper currency, was
probably the flag designer.
The 13-star variety, author
lied on June 14th, 1777, con-
tinued until May 1st, 1875,
when we changed to Is stars
and Is stripes. This 1915 flag
lasted for % years.
NEW STARS. The 1918
Congress passed a law setting
our flag at Is stripes and 20
stars and stating, "A new star
should be added for each new
State" and that the addition
would take place on the Fourth
Of July following the admission
of the State to the Union.
NO STATES. Many people
believe that each star pertains
to a particular State. The So
Stars on our new flag will rep
resent the States collectively
and not individually. AS for
the Stripes, they represent the
thirteen original colonies with
no particular stripe for any
colony.
Inspiration for the use of
the stars in our flag was said
TO have come from the "mul-
lets" on the Washington fam
ily coat-of-arms. In this case,
the mullets were not "fish" but
rowels, the star-shaped wheel
on spurs. 1t is this wheel which
the rider digs into the flanks
Of a horse to make him go
faster.
FLAG DISPOSAL. Some
where we recall reading recent
ly Of q hassle being raised be-
cause many of our old-style
(now obsolete) flags had been
shipped to Jamaica or Puerto
Rico or someplace i
and that they were being used
for cleaning cloths, etc. We also
read that an order had been
given "to cease and desist"
and that the flags were to be
returned for proper and fitting
disposal.
Ever wonder how one should
properly dispose OF a flag?
Well, according to the Nation
al Flag Conference in Washing
ton in 1923, "When a flag is in
such condition that it is no
longer fitting emblem for dis
play, it should not be thrown|
way but should be burned pri-
vately or disposed Of in some
manner in keeping with the
reverence and respect we owe
to the emblem representingI
our country"
MAY WASH. If the flag isl
merely soiled and not be-
draggled, it is perfectly all
right to wash it, taking care
not to drag it on the ground
for it is a symbol of a
people who would not bel
dragged on the ground, nor
would they permit others to be
50 treated.
FLY 1T! Remember, it is our
Flag your Flag! Fly it
proudly on Flag Day and
proudly remember what it
stands for!
al henderson