This summer is full of events celebrating America’s 250th birthday. But this Sunday is more of a celebration of “America 249” – June 14 commemorates the day in 1777 when the Second Continental Congress adopted the nation’s first official flag.
The first national observance of Flag Day was June 14, 1877, and, 149 years later, the nation still celebrates. Residents from across the area have planned a variety of Flag Day events this weekend. Here’s a look at some of them.
Friday, June 12, noon: Happy birthday to the U.S. Army
The Joint Veterans Council of Cuyahoga County will celebrate Flag Day and the 251st birthday of the U.S. Army at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, 1100 Rock & Roll Blvd., Cleveland. The event will also celebrate the naturalization of new U.S. citizens and honor soldiers and sailors who have newly enlisted.
Saturday, June 13, noon: Flag Retirement Ceremony
Members of local Boy Scout troops will gather at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor to retire used and unserviceable American flags. Visitors are invited to drop off such flags until then at the site, 8095 Mentor Ave., Mentor.
Sunday, June 14: Flag Day, a Salute to Freedom
Mayfield Heights will feature a 1 p.m. parade along Mayfield Road from the Greens of Lyndhurst to the Golden Gate Shopping Center followed by a 3 p.m. country music concert in the Aquatics and Community Center parking lot at 6080 Marsol Road.
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Ongoing flag services
If you have a worn out flag that should be disposed of but you can’t make the Mentor event, you can drop it off at the Veterans Service Commission of Cuyahoga County at 3950 Chester Ave. in Cleveland. The VSC accepts flags year-round.
“We will get them to veterans groups that will dispose of them respectfully,” said Jon Reiss, executive director of the Cuyahoga VSC.
And the whole legend of Betsy Ross? That George Washington asked her to make the first flag? While no existing written records show the Philadelphia seamstress and upholsterer being hired to create that first Stars and Stripes, historians have found plenty of evidence suggesting that she did indeed make it.
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