Flags recall various eras in history

a community effort, with only eight of the flags belonging to Anderson and all others loaned by neighbors.

“Here’s a 48,” said David Antich, handing Anderson a 48-star flag, growing the exhibit to 25 of the banners. Antich called it his “family treasure.”

He decided to lend his 48-star flag, the official design between 1912 and 1959, after seeing the exhibit on his morning dog walk.

“It’s probably older than I am,” said Antich, watching quietly as the front-facing clothesline was lowered to hang his flag. “My mom and dad had it and they’re long gone, and I just saved it. It’s just one of those things. You can’t throw away a flag.”

Family treasures

The display features more than variations on the classic stars and stripes. Among the outliers are a bright yellow, rattlesnake-emblazoned “Don’t Tread On Me” flag, Benjamin Franklin’s 1754 “Join or Die” design, and the purported first official flag of the Republic of Texas.

“I give Texas special admission to this show because we’re in Texas,” Anderson said.

While some flags are historical oddities, others are more personal reminders of family and patriotism.

For Mary Burnside, seeing her contribution of a sharp black “1st Calvary Division” flag, which typically sits tucked away in a treasured box, waving alongside colors of red, white and blue reminds her of her father’s service in the military during WWII.

“He gave one flag to each of his children to make sure we understood just how important it was,” said Burnside, 67, who is Anderson’s wife. “It makes me think of my dad when I see it up there.”

Donors are encouraged to give a short personal history of their flag on a small postcard, which is then displayed on a red, white, and blue corkboard attached to a nearby tree.

“My flag was given to my father at his brother’s funeral,” reads a card from civic association president Barbara Shurberg, 73, whose flag is currently the largest on display. “When my father died, I kept it because I knew it meant a lot to him. I am so pleased it is part of this wonderful display.”

The exhibit has become a conversation piece in the 146-home community, and has led neighbors to connect in new ways.

“I’ve talked to neighbors I haven’t talked to in years,” Burnside said. “I’ve even met some neighbors I didn’t know.”

‘Distinctly American’

Yard signs placed across the neighborhood advertise a “rockin’ time” at the “American Flag Celebration,” alongside an Uncle Sam picture declaring, “I want your flags.”

Altogether, though, the flags offer a walk through the trials and tribulations of American history, with each garnering its own admirers. For Geoff Zimmerman, 17, who helped assemble the exhibit, that flag is from the Whiskey Rebellion, a 1791 tax insurrection.

“I haven’t seen it before now, and it’s just different,” Zimmerman said of the blue flag with a swooping eagle. “There’s just something distinctly American about it.”