Flag Day ceremony held at the Owego Elks

The Owego Elks of Lodge 1039 held its annual Flag Day ceremony where flags of our nation’s past are represented and their evolutions witnessed. 

With help from Boy Scout Troop 38, each flag was presented and paired with music as Lodge President Steve Gregory, along with other Elks, read the flags’ histories. 

“Elks Lodges across the country are expected to hold Flag Day ceremonies, as they are the keepers of the flag, said former Lodge President,” Tim Sayers. Normally the celebration would be on the actual holiday, Friday, June 14, however, the Owego Elks were busy with their contributions to this year’s Strawberry Festival. 

In total, the Elks and Scouts presented nine flags – three of them without the traditional stars and stripes. The Pine Flag of 1775 shows a green pine tree on a white field and represented the first inkling of freedom of the U.S. Next, after the well-recognized “Don’t Tread on Me” yellow snake flag, the U.S. flag debuted its first 13 Stripes with white stars on a blue field. These remain consistent through the years with small changes in the number of stars and a brief stint of having 15 stripes. 

“It helps reinforce our patriotism, community service, service to others, lending a helping hand when other people may not,” Sayers said. “It’s what we do here, and it’s a part of what we do as a country. Flag Day is just another way for us to help remind everybody of what we are as Americans.”

Sayers said that the Flag Day ceremony is also a way to honor everyone who serves citizens under its folds. 

With music throughout, Suzanne Newswanger sang the national anthem, “You’re a Grand old Flag” and “God Bless America.” The ceremony then moved on to presenting awards to High School students who submitted Americanism Essays, where they explained what being American meant to them. Lodge President Steve Gregory also presented his former president, Zach Newswanger, an award in recognition of his work. 

Maria Fronek has been an Elk for just over a year and stated this was her first Flag Day ceremony. Fronek said that the best part of the Elks for her is serving her community, whether through fundraising for local organizations or offering different services through the lodge. She found Thursday’s ceremony moving as well. 

“It was really beautiful, very touching and special, and I actually learned a lot about the different flags of our country; I didn’t realize we had so many and what they meant.”