Flag Day ceremony held at Elks Lodge in Owego

The Owego Elks Lodge held a Flag Day ceremony on Friday, June 4, at their lodge on Front Street. The ceremony began with an opening welcome speech in which the Exalted Ruler and President of the Lodge, Steven Gregory, stated, “The purpose of this service is to honor our countries flag, to celebrate the anniversary of its birth, and to recall the achievements obtained beneath its folds.” 

After the opening speech began introductory exercises where lodge officers Esteemed Leading Knight Robert “Bob” Banker, Esteemed Loyal Knight Patrick Cary, and Esteemed Lecturing Knight Maria Fronek took turns answering questions regarding the symbology of the flag and what it represents. 

Gregory stated, “Charity, Justice, brotherly love, and fidelity are the cardinal principles of our order, and 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. To be an Elk is to be an American citizen who lives for their country and is ready to die for it.”

Following the introductory exercises was a prayer led by Chaplain Karen Vinti.

The bulk of the ceremony was devoted to a history of the flag, read by Robert Banker, who recounted the history of the flag as synchronized with the history of America. 

As Banker explained the various stages in the history of the flag, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts carried historical versions of the flag across the audience and placed them into a flag holder, as various patriotic songs such as Yankee Doodle, the Battle Hymn of the Republic, America The Beautiful, and My Country Tis Of Thee played. 

The history of the flag included the Colonial Flag, the Betsy Ross Flag, the “Don’t Tread On Me” Gadsden Flag, and the National League of Families POW/MIA Flag, as well as the creation of our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner.

Steve Gregory finished the historical section by saying, “As this emblem is first in our heart as loyal Americans, so it is close to our altar as Loyal Elks. The gentle breezes with lingering crests kiss the folds of no flag that can compare to it in beauty. There is no such red in budding rose, in falling leaf, or sparkling wine. No such white in April blossom, in crescent moon, or mountain snow. No such blue in a woman’s eye, in oceans depth, or heaven’s dome. And no such pageantry of clustering stars and streaming light, in all the spectrum of the sea and sky.” Gregory noted that the Elks are the first and only fraternal body to require a formal observance of Flag Day.

Following the history of the flag, Tim Sayers gave a response speech. Sayers recounted American wars and conflicts ranging from the Revolutionary War to the war of 1812, to WWI and WWII, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, 9/11, and conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sayers pondered the meaning of the flag and its significance as a symbol in these times of distress, and as a symbol to those around the globe. 

He quoted President Woodrow Wilson, stating, “This flag which we honour 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 choice is ours.”

The ceremony concluded as the speakers and the audience gave the pledge of allegiance to the flag.

After the ceremony, Sayers added, “This ceremony is a celebration of the American flag, and the Elks National Association of Lodges were the ones that were instrumental in getting Flag Day to be recognized by congress as an American holiday, and to celebrate the flag and what it means to this country.” He said the ceremony is mandated by the Great Elks Lodge to be performed by every Elks Lodge nationwide, and that the Owego Lodge has performed it every year since its creation in 1906.

He said the ceremony is important to him, noting, “It brings me back to the fact that this country is one where everybody helps everybody else. We all work together to move ourselves forward, if somebody stumbles you lend them a hand, help pick them up and help everybody move forward together, nobody gets left behind.”

When asked how the Scouts participate, he said, “As part of this we work with the boy scouts and the girl scouts, as their community service objective, to help participate in this because both organizations also have ceremonies of their own regarding the flag and the pledge of allegiance, so this just meshes with their mission statement.”

When asked if he had any other message he wanted to give, Sayers said, “Honor our veterans, honor our servicemen and woman, also honor our frontline people, our firemen, our police department, our EMS, those folks that work in the hospitals and everything, especially after this past year with COVID-19, store-workers, clerks, everybody that was out there on the frontlines – they all deserve to be honored as part of a ceremony like this for what they’ve done over this past year and what they do to help us keep moving forward.”