Flag Day at the Elks Lodge

The Wrangell Elks Lodge hosted a Flag Day ceremony last Friday, June 14. Flag Day is a national holiday to commemorate the adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the country's national flag. According to military.com, commemoration of Flag Day dates back to the 1880s, when teacher BJ Cigrand organized a group of Wisconsin students to observe the flag's birthday. The practice grew and spread across the country until it was officially recognized as a holiday by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks requires that their lodges formally recognize Flag Day.

"Charity, justice, brotherly love, and fidelity are the cardinal principles of our order," Exalted Ruler Barbara Hommel said. "They are exemplified in all of our services. By them we teach love of country, and of our countrymen, and loyalty to our American way of life."

Part of the ceremony involved a parade of flags, carried by Girl Scouts AJ and Kailee Roundtree. Starting with the Pine Tree Flag of 1775 and working up to the modern Stars and Stripes, each rendition of America's flag was carried through the lodge while its history was read aloud. What is considered the country's first national flag consisted of 13 alternating red and white stripes, along with a British Union Jack where today's stars are located on the flag. Flags exchanging the Union Jack for stars would come later during the Revolutionary War. It was not until 1818 that Congress decided that a new star would be added to the American Flag for every new state to join the union. Alaska and Hawaii were the two most recent states to join, both in 1959, bringing the total number of stars on the flag from 48 to 50.

"Our flag is at once a history, a declaration, and a prophecy," Hommel said. "It represents the American nation as it was at its birth. It speaks to what it is today, and holds the opportunity of the future to add other stars to the glorious constellation."

After reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, everyone attending the ceremony was invited to step outside of the lodge for a flag retirement ceremony. Harry Churchill and Dave Hartong, of the American Legion, volunteered their time to lead the ceremony. When an American flag becomes too old or tattered for use, it is meant to be properly disposed of. One of the ways to do so is to burn it. About a dozen American flags had been gathered for the ceremony. Slowly adding flags to the fire, making sure they were all burned and nothing was left, Churchill and Hartong burned flags while the Elks and other members of the public looked on.

"In conclusion of this observance of Flag Day, let us rededicate ourselves to the flag of the United States of America," Hommel said. "May the principles of charity, justice, brotherly love, and fidelity ever increase in each of us."