Flag Day prompts pair of ceremonies

James Hunt, Exalted Ruler of the Elks Lodge of Page, provides a history lesson on the American flag to attendees of the Flag Day ceremony in the city park.

The city of Page showed its true colors June 14 by holding not one but two events to commemorate Flag Day.

First, Beehive Home of Page cooked a steak luncheon for members of the police and fire departments to recognize their service to the community.

Chad Szymanski, administrator for the home, presented both organizations with plaques to thank them for their bravery and dedication as public servants.

Later in the day, a ceremony conducted by the local Boy Scouts in the city park to honor the American flag and provide a bit of history about its evolution and how the current design came to be.

Mayor Bill Diak and James Hunt, Exalted Ruler of the Elks Lodge of Page, gave patriotic speeches about the history and the significance the flag, while members of the Scouts planted each flag into a bucket as they were being described to the audience.

Flag Day was first introduced on a community and state level in 1885, then established by a proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson on May 30, 1916.

Flag Day was celebrated in several regions of the nation for years after Wilson’s proclamation, but it was not until August 3, 1949, that President Harry Truman signed an Act of Congress directing that June 14 of each year would serve as National Flag Day.

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