Several community members watched as Newtown Lions Club and Newtown Hook & Ladder members honored a long-standing tradition and raised Main Street’s summer flag on Saturday, May 18.

The iconic landmark rotates between two different flags, a summer flag donated by the Lions and a winter flag donated by Newtown Hardware, every year. The summer flag will fly high on the Main Street flagpole until the fall, when it will get replaced by the smaller winter flag.

The changing of the flag is also a collaborative effort. Newtown Hook & Ladder volunteer firefighters positioned their truck next to the flagpole and raised the truck’s ladder sky high to the top of the flagpole. Lions and other members of the community stood by on the sidewalk until they had the chance to safely navigate towards the bottom of the flagpole.

Everyone had their role in helping out. Newtown Hook & Ladder members lowered the winter flag from atop their truck’s ladder. When the flag reached the ground, the Lions and community members crowding around the base of the flagpole held up a part of the flag and spread out so the flag was raised flat across one side of the street.

Everyone then carefully walked it over to the sidewalk, where Lions members inspected the flag to see if it is in good enough condition to be used again come this fall. The summer flag was then brought out and hoisted up high into the sky.

Lions member and Keeper of the Flagpole Chris Gardner took the opportunity to touch up and paint over all the scratches on the flagpole, as Lions treasurer Kevin Corey says he does every year.

Lions member Jan Bennett said that their organization makes an active effort to honor the tradition and help change the flag simply because they can and they want to. To her and the Lions, it is more than tradition, it is serving the town and its community.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.