Flagpole Rally Committee To Commemorate Flag Day

By Nancy K. Crevier

Members of The Newtown Flagpole Rally Committee gathered at the Main Street flagpole on Monday morning, June 6. The committee will be distributing literature on the history of the American flag, available at The Children’s Adventure Center, C.H. Booth Library, Newtown Municipal Center, The Newtown Bee, and Drug Center Pharmacy through Flag Day — this year on Tuesday, June 14 — said organizer Mae Schmidle. The group will also make available special postcards depicting the erection of the original Liberty Pole in Newtown, with artwork by Harrie Wood. Joining Ms Schmidle on the committee are Dr John Reed, Dr Robert Grossman, Tom and Toni Catalina, Corinne Speidel, Anna Wiedemann, and Dave Lydem.

This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the passage of a bill that saved Newtown’s flagpole. The bill, HB No. 5441, “An Act Concerning the Newtown Flagpole,” was introduced to preserve the Newtown flagpole by then State Representative Mae Schmidle in January 1981, and signed into law by Governor William O’Neill on May 20, 1981. The Newtown flagpole has the distinction of being the only flagpole in Connecticut located at the juncture of two state roads (Routes 6 and 25).

The flagpole has long been a distinguishing feature of the town throughout Connecticut, and had been the target of removal by the Department of Transportation (DOT) for many years until the legislation, the first bill ever introduced by Mrs Schmidle when she arrived in Hartford, was passed.

“The State DOT has always looked upon our distinguishing flagpole as being an impediment to through traffic, and they made several serious attempts to remove the flagpole,” recalled Mrs Schmidle. Attempts to do so, or suggestions to move the flagpole to another location, were met with great disapproval by Newtown residents.

The 1981 legislation attracted the attention of creative individuals, said Ms Schmidle, “and resulted in two oil paintings, an essay, and at least two poems.”

The original wooden flagpole was replaced when a local resident took it upon himself to replace the worn wooden pole with a structurally superior metal pole, purported to last indefinitely, Ms Schmidle said.

“This new steel pole was constructed with a huge ball at the base, which would guarantee that if the pole were to be inadvertently hit, it would automatically self-right,” she said, “a major innovation at that time, and still true today.”

On June 14, classes of The Children’s Adventure Center will travel to Newtown Meeting House on Main Street, at 10 am, for a lesson about the flag. Dr Reed will conduct the group as they salute the flag. The Children’s Adventure Center participants will also distribute flyers on the history of the American flag and American flag key rings at that time. The public is invited to attend the ceremony with the children.