The Lincoln Highway National Museum & Archives 102 Old Lincoln Way West Galion, Ohio 44833 (419) 462-2212 Voice (419) 462-2214 Fax (419) 566-0790 Cell

Dear Friends,

Since Friday is the 4th of July,
and we've been talking
a lot about the Flag here lately,
I thought it might be fun
to tell the story of
"Old Glory".

But wait,
how did I learn the story???

Well,
I was at the library
in Ely, Nevada
with my
"Nose to the Grindstone"
looking for
Lincoln Highway Material
when I tripped over a most interesting
series of articles written by
Elmo Scott Watson.

Mr. Lincoln...

The First Memorial Day...

Gold Star Mothers...

Historic American Flags...

And finally..."Old Glory"

Now for those of you who don't know,
Mr. Watson was a famous
Historical Journalist
and even has a Prize named after him.

For more information...

Click Here

The point being,
he was quite popular and knew his stuff.

But what struck me the most
was his subject matter,
illustrations,
and layouts.

To my mind,
they are all first class.

So much so,
I spent the rest of the afternoon
copying nothing but his articles.

Maybe 50 or more...

And each one,
is just as fascinating as the next.

OK,
so back to
"Old Glory"

I like the way he sets the stage,
kinda like Dragnet...

This is the city...

In any event,
while this part was familiar,
the second part was not.

And while the story is about
Captain Driver and "Old Glory"...

"Looking aloft he cries out,
"I'll call her Old Glory, boys, Old Glory!"

What caught my eye,
was the Sailor's speech.

"Captain Driver is on deck when a sailor,
carrying the red, white and blue bundle,
folded in triangular form,
advances and starts out
upon his carefully memorized speech."

"In ancient times when an ocean voyage
was looked upon with superstitious dread,
it was the custom on the eve of the departure
to roll the banner in the form of a triangle.

When ready the priest stepped forward
and taking the banner in hand sprinkled it
with consecrated water and dedicated it to,
God the Father,
God the Son,
and
God the Holy Ghost,
turning the point of the triangle
upward at the name of each,
thus calling on that unity of
Creator,
Redeemer,
and
Sanctifier
to bless the national emblem
and prosper the voyagers and their friends."

"The flag thus consecrated was then hoisted to the masthead."

Now after all that,
comes the Good Part...

"As he finishes,
he hands his gift to Captain Driver
who adjusts it to the halyards and hoists
it in position at the masthead."

"Quiet falls upon the crowd,
as the new flag unfurls in all its beauty."

"To Captain Driver,
who has just heard the rite of the ancients,
comes the inspiration to perform a rite of his own."

"Looking aloft he cries out,
"I'll call her Old Glory,
boys,
Old Glory!"

Warmest Regards,

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