Friday, June 13, 2025 marked another
patriotic Flag Day celebration and
ceremony at the Elks Lodge. Scouts from troop
777 participated and presented the flags.
Lodge officers presented the program which is
traditional for all Elks Lodges. Americanism
Chairman
Devin McCauley,
along with Warren Stout, Paul Ryan, Chuck Blake,
Lynn Hurd, Pete Rainbolt and ER Jaye Nordling,
with the assistance of the Scouts, put on an
impressive program with explanations and readings
about the various flags that have historically
flown over the USA.
Exalted Ruler Jaye Nordling preparing to open the
ceremony. In the background, l to r, are
Warren Stout - Leading Knight; Paul Ryan -
Lecturing Knight; Chuck Blake - Esquire; Devin
McCauley - Americanism Chairman; Lynn Hurd - Loyal
Knight; and Peter Rainbolt - Chaplain
Peter Rainbolt, Chaplain leading the opening
Prayer
Devin McCauley, Americanism Chair preparing to
call in the ceremonial flags
In 1775, the Pine Tree Flag was adopted for all
colonial vessels, and this was the banner carried
by the Continental forces in the Battle of Bunker
Hill.
The Southern colonies from 1776 to 1777 used the
Snake Flag
In the latter part of 1775 the Continental
Congress appointed a committee to consider the
question of a single Flag for the thirteen
colonies. That committee recommended a design of
thirteen alternate stripes of red and white, with
an azure field in the upper corner bearing the red
cross of St. George and the white cross of St.
Andrew. John Paul Jones, the senior lieutenant of
the flagship “Alfred,” hoisted this Flag to the
masthead on December 3, 1775, and one month later
it was raised over the headquarters of General
Washington at Cambridge, Massachusetts, “In
compliment,” as he wrote, “to the United
Colonies.”
This Flag, called “The Continental Colors” and
“The Grand Union,” was never carried in the field
by the Continental land forces, but it was used by
the Navy as its exclusive ensign, and was the
first American Flag to receive a salute of honor,
a salute of eleven guns from the Fort of Orange in
the Dutch West Indies.
In response to a general demand for a banner more
representative of our country, the Congress on
June 14, 1777, provided: —
“That the Flag of the
United States be thirteen stripes of alternating
red and white; and that the union be thirteen
stars, white on a blue field, representing a new
constellation.”
It is generally
believed that in May or June of 1776, a
committee consisting of George Washington,
Robert Morris and George Ross commissioned
Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia Quakeress, to make
a Flag from a rough design they left with her.
It is said that she suggested that the stars
should have five points, rather than six.
This
starry banner was first flown at Fort Stanwix,
called Fort Schuyler at that time, near the
city of Rome, New York, on August 3, 1777, and
was under fire three days later at the battle
of Oriskany, August 6, 1777, during a British
and Indian attack.
The
first official salute to the Stars and Stripes
was given on February 14, 1778, by France, on
the French coast, when the “Ranger,” under
command of John Paul Jones, was saluted by the
French fleet.
This
Flag, then carried by the “Ranger,” was made
by the young women of Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, from stripes of their best
colored-silk dresses and the white wedding
gown of a recent bride.
It
is said that this same “Ranger’s” Flag was
flown by Jones’ ship, the “Bon Homme Richard”
in its thrilling fight by moonlight, upon the
high seas, with the British frigate “Serapis.”
When the “Serapis” struck her colors, the
immortal fame of John Paul Jones was ensured
as the intrepid defender of the youthful
republic.
The
original thirteen Stars and Stripes
represented the original thirteen colonies. In
1795 two additional Stars and Stripes were
added to represent admission to the Union of
Vermont and Kentucky. Under this banner of
fifteen Stars and Stripes was fought the War
of 1812. It was the sight of it flying over
Fort McHenry, on September 14, 1814, that
inspired Francis Scott Key to write what was
to become our national anthem, “The
Star-Spangled Banner.”
Miss
Margaret Young, who cut the stars for that
particular banner, was the mother of Henry
Sanderson, the Grand Exalted Ruler of the
Order of Elks in 1884.
The Congress on April 14, 1818, adopted a
resolution that on and after July 4, 1818, the
number of stripes should be thirteen and that the
blue field should carry one star for each of the
twenty states in the union and that a new star
should be added for each state thereafter
admitted.
Since 1818, there has been no change in the Flag
design except that twenty‑eight new stars were
added before July 4, 1912, and this Flag of
forty‑eight stars flew over this nation for
forty‑seven years until just before the Vietnam
War.
On July 4, 1959, a star was added for Alaska, our
first non‑connected state and a year later,
Hawaii, our island state added a fiftieth star.
Our present Flag — fifty stars and thirteen
stripes. It is accompanied by the POW-MIA Flag to
recognize the plight and demise of a special group
of our Armed Services, those who were prisoners of
war or still remain missing in action.
Members and Leaders of Scout Troop #777
And there you have the near
complete ritual of the Flag Day Ceremony as
practiced by Elks Lodges throughout the Country.
We always welcome friends, relatives, and guests
at this ceremony, so please join us!
It is generally
believed that in May or June of 1776, a
committee consisting of George Washington,
Robert Morris and George Ross commissioned
Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia Quakeress, to make
a Flag from a rough design they left with her.
It is said that she suggested that the stars
should have five points, rather than six.
