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WEDNESDAY EDITION
Siuslaw News
Coast Life
❘ JUNE 14, 2017 ❘
SECTION B
SENIOR NEWS
CALENDAR
INSIDE — 8B
B a n n er ye t w a v e s
Florence Flag Day ceremonies include laying Old Glory to rest
O
n June 14, 1777, the
Second Continental
Congress
passed
the Flag Resolution,
stating, “Resolved, That the flag
of the thirteen United States
be thirteen stripes, alternate
red and white; that the union
be thirteen stars, white in a
blue field, representing a new
constellation.”
The American flag now features 13
stripes and 50 stars. It is the 27th flag
of the U.S. and
B Y C HANTELLE
was adopted in
M EYER
July 1960, mak-
Siuslaw News
ing
it
the
longest-used
version.
Two hundred forty years after 1777,
America still chooses to honor Old
Glory with Flag Day each year on June
14. Often preceded by a presidential
proclamation, the week surrounding
Flag Day is declared National Flag
Week.
Locally, various civic groups have
prepared ceremonies to honor the
American flag and share its history.
Florence Elks Lodge 1858 is holding
a Flag Day Ceremony Wednesday, June
14, at 1686 12th St.
The public is welcome to attend the
opening reception at 10 a.m. with cof-
fee and donuts, followed by the Flag
Day Ceremony at 11 a.m.
Members of the Elks will give an
educational presentation of the first
flags of the U.S. and the importance of
each.
The Knights of Columbus is working
with Oregon Coast Military Museum
(OCMM) this week with volunteer
service and a Flag Ceremony at 11 a.m.
This will be a presentation on
American Flag heritage.
Then, at 4 p.m., American Legion
Post 59, Veterans of Foreign Wars,
Daughters of the American Revolution,
OPEN SOURCE POSTER
America celebrates Flag Day on June 14 to commemorate the
Second Continental Congress establishing the Flag
Resolution in 1777. Although Flag Day isn’t an official feder-
al holiday, many states and communities observe it with cer-
emonies, parades and more. It is also a chance to remem-
ber the many forms the flag has taken in 240 years. The cur-
rent flag with 50 stars and 13 stripes is the 27th official flag,
but there have been a multitude of other variations over the
years. Flag Day is also the start of patriotic celebrations
honoring American Independence. For more information on
the American flag, attend any of the three Flag Day
Ceremonies held in Florence today.
local Scout Troops and many more
groups will participate in the annual
Flag Retirement Ceremony on Bay
Street near Veteran’s Memorial Park.
The ceremony, beginning at 4 p.m., for-
mally and respectfully retires American
flags using proper flag etiquette.
According to U.S. Flag Code, “when
a flag is so worn it is no longer fit to
serve as a symbol of our country, it
should be destroyed by burning in a
dignified, ceremonious manner.”
Community members are encouraged
to bring their worn-out flags for proper
retirement.
“We expect several hundred flags
this year, so participation by as many
folks as possible would be great,” said
American Legion Sergeant-at-Arms
Duane Sansome. “For those who wish
to participate in the actual retirement of
the flags, including children and their
parents, we ask you to please show half
hour prior to the commencement of the
event in order to receive instructions.”
American Legion Post Commander
Rick Shores will lead the ceremony
with post chaplain Don Jordan and a
color guard from U.S. Coast Guard
Station Siuslaw River.
Bleachers will be available for public
seating, and parking is available in the
lot of the former Lotus Restaurant.
The
Presidential
Flag Week
Proclamation in 2016 “called upon the
people of the U.S. to observe with pride
and all due ceremony those days from
Flag Day through Independence Day,
also set aside by the Congress, as a
time to honor America, to celebrate our
heritage in public gatherings and activ-
ities and to publicly recite the Pledge of
Allegiance to the Flag of the United
States of America.”
The Florence area holds patriotic
events through July 4 to honor the U.S.
Military — OCMM celebrates its sec-
ond anniversary on Saturday, July 1 —
and American Independence.
For more information on July 4 activ-
ities, visit florencechamber.com.
“Star-Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott Key
O say can you see,
by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed
at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars
through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched,
were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare,
the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the
home of the brave?