LEROYPENNYSAVER&NEWS - JUNE 14, 2015
Fly “OldGlory” onSunday, June 14th
byLynneBelluscio
I didn’t plan it on purpose,
but my daughter was born on
FlagDay. (You’llhave toaskher
what year thatwas.And I amnot
old enough to have children as
old as mine!) With that said, I
calledher the other day and said
–“Hey I’ll pickupchickenBBQ
on Sunday on Trigon Park from
theHistorical Society (Hint: the
BBQ starts at 11amandyoucan
buy chicken and ribs – drive up
andpickuponly.) I hopewe sell
out early so I canget over formy
daughter’s birthday.)
American flags have been a
part of our activities at the Le-
RoyHouse thisweek.We’veput
together a Civil War program.
The kids get to sample some
army food – beef jerky, hard
tack, and coffee and we expect
each of them to enlist in either
the heavy artillery, the infantry
or the cavalry - - for three years.
I think theheavyartilleryhas the
mostvolunteers. Then theywork
on sewing anAmericanflag.
According to the story that
we have about Myron Pierson,
his two sisters, while he was
away fighting in the 100thNew
York Volunteers, sewed a huge
flag that was flown after Union
victories.Wehave theflag in the
collection, packed away safely
in an acid-free box rolled in ac-
id-free tissue.
After the kids do a little sew-
ing, theyaregivenacardwith the
nameof aCivilWar soldier from
LeRoy,whosenamecanbe found
on themonument inTrigonPark.
Theyareasked towritea letter to
thesoldier tellinghimaboutwhat
they have learned about a sol-
dier’s life. Then they are given a
ribbononwhich theyare towrite
the soldier’s name. The ribbon
will be tied to an American flag
and at the end of the week, the
studentswillgo to themonument
and place the flags - - there will
be about a hundred flags. There
were more than 240 men from
LeRoy who fought in the Civil
War.At themonument,Abraham
Lincoln’sGettysburgaddresswill
be read. So as you drive by this
weekend, you’ll notice the flags
around themonument.
Flag Day is commemorated
on June 14, because on that date
in 1777, Congress, which
was meeting in Philadel-
phia, adopteda resolution
declaring “that the flag
of the United States shall
be of thirteen stars of
white in a blue field . .
.” And by now all of you
know that the story about
Betsey Ross is more of a
folk story than the truth.
The Betsey Ross story
surfaced in 1870, when
her grandson, William
Canby, told the “family
story” to thePennsylvania
Historical Society.
In 1916, President
WoodrowWilson estab-
lished June 14 as Flag
Day. It is not a national
holiday, but traditionally
schoolshaveheldflagday
celebrations. I remem-
ber in grammar school a
marching program that
we rehearsed for weeks
that we presented to the
rest of the school in the
gym. We each carried a
flag andmarched in a variety of
configurations. It was also on
FlagDay that two students from
each school (in Rochester) par-
ticipated in a city-wide “transfer
of the flags.” Each school had
a graduating salutatorian and
valedictorian that passed theflag
on to the incoming senior class.
As you drive by the LeRoy
House this week youwill notice
awhitecanvas tent pitched in the
frontyard.That isLieutenantMy-
ronPierson’s tent. It isfilledwith
dry straw. It ismuchbigger than
an enlisted private’s two-man
tent. Next year, we hope to have
thesmaller tentpitchednext to it.
You will also notice that we
are flying a Civil War era flag.
At thebeginningof theCivilWar,
most flagshad33 stars.Thatwas
theflag thatwas flyingover Fort
Sumterwhen itwasshelledat the
beginning of the war. The State
of Kansas was admitted to the
Union in 1861 and the flag then
could include34stars.Evenafter
the Confederate States seceded
from the Union, their stars were
not removed, because President
Lincoln believed that they were
allpartof theUnitedStates, even
though theywere inRebellion.
In 1863,West Virginia joined
the Union and in 1864, Nevada
joined the Union and two more
stars were added to the flag. At
that time therewas no “official”
arrangement for thestars, so they
were often hap hazzardly placed
in the bluefield.
There is a story that when
Union troops capturedNashville
inTennessee inFebruary1862,an
old shipmaster, CaptainWilliam
Driver, was living there, and
when the Union troops arrived,
he pulled out a flag that he had
hidden. Though it only had 24
stars because he had been given
the flag in 1831 - - it was raised
above theTennessee capital. He
called the flag “Old Glory” and
the nickname stuck.
So remember tofly “OldGlo-
ry” this weekend on Flag Day.
It’s just another reason why
LeRoy is one of America’s Best
Communities!!!!
LeRoyHistorical Society
Chicken 'nRibs
Sunday, June 14th
onTrigonPark, LeRoy
11:00 amTil SoldOut!
BBQ 1/2CHICKEN - $10.00 • BBQ 1/4CHICKEN&RIBS - $12.00
w/salt potatoes & cole slaw, roll, cookies
Carry Out Only
"DriveThrough" OnTrigon Park
6/7
THECHICKEN
&RIBS
SELLOUT EARLY!!
Prepared
By
PhilTooze
