Hooray for the Red, White and Blue!

Let’s send up a cheer for how patriotic Groovy Grove looked this last weekend. Hopefully, everyone noticed Old Glory waving from the utility poles all throughout the city limits. This is not a small deal, the numbers are impressive.

There were 285 American flags installed on 285 permanent flag holders. Flags have been flying over Grove for many  years. The Grove Kiwani’s Club put up flags since the early 1980’s.  Grove Rotary Club picked up that patriotic banner circa 2010. Every Memorial Day, Flag Day, July 4^th, Labor Day, and Veteran’s Day, a team of volunteer Rotarians hit the streets about daylight. The well-organized effort requires pick-up truck drivers, a flag un-roller, and a tall person to stand in the truck bed to insert the flagpole in the receptacle.

It is an outstanding effort to beautify our city and show our “All American” spirit. Funds were raised to buy permanent holders and additional flags that can fly from Memorial Day to Labor Day. They are illuminated by the pole lights and, in my opinion, look striking. For this to happen this year, the Rotarians purchased $1300 worth of extra flags. And, they have plans to add even more.

In case you got caught up in the hotdogs and lake scene, you might have missed another magnificent flag display. The Grove Ritual Team installs over 200 flag poles into the ground at Olympus Cemetery.  Each flag is dedicated to a soldier with their name, rank, and years of service posted on the pole. Most of these names are our local men and women who served in the armed services, including my daddy Paul Roberts. For $75, you can still get a flag that will be flown on Memorial Day, Flag Day, and Veteran’s Day… forever.

This has been ongoing for over 20 years. They put small American flags on all the veterans’ graves and American flags are also displayed at Buzzard Cemetery. This momentous job takes hours of hard working and faithful veterans and they are always hoping and looking for younger folks to volunteer their assistance. Feel free to contact them as they have several ways veterans can continue to serve and they welcome your help.

 For a small town, around 500 flags flying is a lot of flags! That means there are 6500 red and white stripes unfurling as a reminder of the 13 original colonies. The white stripe representing purity and innocence. The red stripe, valor and bravery. As we drive down the highway, we can look up to that field of blue that represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice. And there will be 25,000  stars  on those flags above us this summer.

Encourage the young people in your life to understand what the flag represents. Help them to understand what there is to remember at Memorial Day and other holidays. All you have to do is take a drive this summer and the lessons are there, flying above us.