ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Allentown Police Honor Guard hoisted a new flag over City Hall amid Wednesday’s rain as officials marked Flag Day in the place where the holiday first rose to prominence.
Flag Day was established as a national holiday in 1949, but it’s been around much longer in Allentown, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said.
- Local officials, employees and residents marked Flag Day on Wednesday at Allentown City Hall
- The Allentown Police Honor Guard raised a flag outside before a short ceremony in council chambers
- Allentown has been observing Flag Day since long before it was a nationally recognized holiday
The city held its first Flag Day celebration 118 years ago in 1905. The Allentown Flag Day Association, which helped organize Wednesday’s event, started several years later.
Several dozen people stood outside to watch the flag-raising ceremony and a rendition of the national anthem before Mayor Matt Tuerk ushered the crowd inside.
Family ties
Speaking in City Council’s chambers, Tuerk thanked officials, city employees and residents who braved the weather “to pay tribute to the most revered symbol of our nation.”
The mayor and state Sen. Nick Miller both spoke about how the holiday reminds them of family members.
Tuerk said Flag Day and other patriotic holidays make him think of his Cuban-born grandmother, who moved to the United States in 1946.
“Every time we raise that flag, it should be a reminder to us of the way that we unify in this country to solve challenges together."Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk
She “deeply, deeply loved this country,” to the point that she chose to get married on the Fourth of July, Tuerk said. She was naturalized as a U.S. citizen on Flag Day in 1974, further cementing the mayor’s sentimental connections to the holiday.
Tuerk said the flag is “a symbol of unity for our country” and urged residents and officials to recognize its potential to bridge political gaps.
“Every time we raise that flag, it should be a reminder to us of the way that we unify in this country to solve challenges together,” he said.
Miller said Flag Day brings up thoughts of his grandfather, brother and the “long lineage of servicemen in my family that I look up to in my career as a community leader and a public servant.”
“When I look at that flag, I think about our freedoms and those that have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and given their lives to protect us and our freedom,” Miller said.
Tuerk and Miller both delivered official proclamations at Allentown’s Flag Day ceremony.
Trying to reach a younger generation
Allentown Flag Day Association is the oldest such organization in the country.
Dennis Pearson, who runs the group, said the American flag is important to celebrate because it’s the one thing citizens are “bound by.”
“We're not bound to a single person, we're not bound to the president, we're not bound to political parties — although sometimes one thinks they are. But we are bound by the flag, which is not an icon. It's a symbol of the republic in which we stand.”Dennis Pearson, Allentown Flag Day Association
“We're not bound to a single person, we're not bound to the president, we're not bound to political parties — although sometimes one thinks they are,” Pearson said.
“But we were bound by the flag, which is not an icon. It's a symbol of the republic in which we stand.”
The Allentown Flag Day Association is set to hold a concert Wednesday night at William Allen High School, where two Raub Middle School students — Noah Justiniano and Siery Torres — and Trexler Middle School’s Ricard Santana will be honored for winning a patriotic-speech competition.
Pearson said the competition is part of the group’s efforts to reach younger people and keep its work going.
Allentown Flag Day Association also participates in four naturalization ceremonies each year, where members congratulate new citizens and give them American flags, he said.
