Homer Republicans are encouraging area residents to gather on June 14 for a Flag Day parade through town. Across the country, this day is historically set aside to honor the first national flag design, approved in 1777.
According to a notice from the District 6 Republican Party, Homer residents will meet at Tustumena Ferry Dock next to Lands End at 11:30 a.m. The parade will then proceed down Spit Road and conclude at the American Legion Post 16 on East End Road.
A flag retirement ceremony will take place around 1 p.m.
Inspiration to set aside a day to honor the national flag came, in part, from a Wisconsin schoolteacher who urged his students to celebrate “Flag Birthday” in 1885. Three years later, William T. Kerr of Pennsylvania founded the American Flag Day Association of Western Pennsylvania, an organization to which he dedicated his life.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed June 14 as the official date for Flag Day, and in 1949, the U.S. Congress permanently established the date as National Flag Day.
While not an official federal holiday, U.S. presidents deliver an address that proclaims the week of June 14 as National Flag Week, and all Americans are encouraged to fly U.S. flags.
