Flag Day Observed at Elks Lodge

A Flag Day observance at the Huntington Elks Lodge Saturday provided some flag history, honored students who participated in an essay contest, and ended with a lesson on how to properly dispose of flags that are ready to be retired.

Much of the power of the American flag lies in its symbolism, Assemb. James Conte, R-Huntington Station, noted during the ceremony. To some it signifies imperialism, to others it evokes patriotism, to others it stands for the American way of life. Conte said he deeply understood the sacrifices involved in protecting that flag and how it can inspire people when he watched Lt. James Byler struggle to stand on his new prosthetic legs over Memorial Day weekend as Byler led the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Elks have sponsored a Flag Day ceremony for close to 30 years, and Conte said he began sponsoring a ceremony to properly dispose of flags in 2002 after so many responded to the terrorism events of Sept. 11 by flying the flag.

National Flag Day is June 14, a Tuesday this year. The date commemorates the adoption of the flag in 1777 by the Second Continental Congress. It was signed into law by an Act of Congress in 1949 by President Harry S. Truman, himself an Elk.

A brief history of U.S. flags led off the program, with Boy and Girl Scouts holding the flags while Elks members gave some history on the different designs, from the first flag improvised from a soldier's shirt and stripes from a borrowed flannel petticoat to the Betsy Ross flag done in 1776, with red and white stripes and a circle of 13 stars for the 13 colonies.

The various elements of the flag signify a promise, one that America's troops have purchased with their blood time and time again, said Jack Safarik, the lodge’s exalted ruler. He quoted Woodrow Wilson: “This flag, which we honor and under which we serve, is the emblem of our unity, our power, our thought and purpose as a nation. It has no other character than that which we give it from generation to generation. The choices are ours.”

The local Elks lodge for the first time this year participated in a national essay contest on the theme “why I’m proud to be an American,” said Peter Demidovich, head of the Americanism committee, as he presented winners with a gift card and Conte handed out certificates.

Winners in Division I, fifth and sixth-graders, were Irene Antony, a fifth-grader from Elwood's James Boyd Intermediate School; Michael Giarrizzo and Zachary Nerzig, from South Huntington's ; and Jake Gusew, a sixth-grader from Northport Middle School.

Winners in Division II, all from South Huntington's were Sumona Halder and Jade Darrow, eighth-graders, and Liliana Hoffman, a seventh-grader.

At the end of the ceremony, Scouts headed outside to burn the flags, a recommended way to dispose of a flag ready to be retired.