Thread: Overdue project done

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I brought back 2 flags from Moms' when I made the trip back there a couple of months ago. The first is a 48 star flag that was my Great Granddads'. He flew it from his front porch on holidays and thru most of World War II until he sold the dairy and moved in with my Grandmother in 1944.

The other flag is the one my Dad flew every day until he passed away and then mom continued to fly it every day until she could no longer go up and down the porch steps to put it up and take it down. I would raise and lower it daily when I went back for visits.

I've been meaning to put up a flag pole for years but just never seemed to get around to it. I vowed that I would have one up by Veterans Day this year so I could fly Dad and Moms' flag.

I couldn't find any flagpoles locally that I liked and checking on line I only came up with poles that either looked too spindly or way over what I wanted to pay for one. I decided to just go ahead and build one and went out to the driveshaft pile and found some I figured I could do something with. Seven shafts and some cutting a welding later I had a 20 foot flag pole (plus the 4' length to go in the ground). I think it came out pretty good, it tappers from 3 1/2" at the bottom to a bit over 2" at the top and is straight. I ended up with a bit over $100 in it including the concrete I used to set the casing the pole slides into. The biggest part of the outlay was for the halyard and a 3" chrome ball bearing for the top. Even if nobody else does, Cade and Austin were pretty impressed that Grandpa built his own flag pole

I twisted my back a week ago so putting the pole up waited until yesterday when my friend Dave (69Bee) and his wife could come over and help getting the pole slid into the casing.

flag Pole by M Patterson, on Flickr


I am really pleased to be able to fly my folks flag on special occasions (I have another flag for daily use). The other reason I've wanted to do this is the Grandkids. I know they get a little bit of it at school but by golly my Grandkids will all know how to properly raise, lower and fold an American Flag. Hopefully some of the meaning and importance of the flag will also get instilled in them along the way.



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