New Philadelphia Rotarians install flag display ahead of Memorial Day

NEW PHILADELPHIA – Temperatures soared well into the high 80s as three New Philadelphia Rotarians recently worked to install a display of 50 flags at the corner of South Broadway and Commercial Avenue SE.

Dubbed the Salute Freedom project — co-chaired by New Philadelphia Rotary’s Tom Police and Mark Garrison, with assistance from Cary Gardner — placement of flags around the city is in its 13th year. However, it was the first year of the 50-flag display at the very same site of the recently resurrected Christmas display of 2023 and previous decades.

Inspired by suggestions from the South Side Neighbors Facebook group, funds for the flag display were paid for with donations.

All the flags were acquired this year through Amazon for $9.99 a piece and produced by an American manufacturer, according to Tom Police.

In order to guarantee stability during installation and future years, 18-inch holes were drilled into the ground for PVC pipes to be inserted and used as flag pole holders. The goal is to be able to reuse the sheaths year after year instead of going through arduous installation over and over again.

The display will come down after Veterans Day.

T-R staff photographerAndrew Dolph can be reached by phone at 330-289-6072, or by email atadolph3@gannett.com. You can also find him on Instagram @dolphphoto.