American Flags

Now Line Main Street

By Shannon Hicks

Residents driving or walking along Main Street during the second half of last weekend began noticing something patriotic pulling their eye toward the side of the road. In addition to Newtown’s magnificent flagpole in front of Newtown Meeting House, a series of smaller American flags now hang from utility poles along the busy roadway.

Paul Arneth, Tom Evagash, and Denny McLaughlin spent nearly three hours placing flags on utility poles along Main Street on August 9. The men, three of the five members of a Newtown Lions Club subcommittee, were finishing the first of what Mr Arneth says will be an annual presentation along the corridor that runs from the intersection of Main Street and Currituck Road to Main Street at Sugar Street.

The project took just about two months to put into action, Mr Arneth said this week. A regular visitor to Candlewood Valley Country Club in New Milford, the Sandy Hook resident often follows Route 25 through Brookfield when driving to and from a round of golf.

“I have always admired that stretch of road in Brookfield, along Route 25, and wondered if we could do it here,” Mr Arneth said, referring to a project initiated in the neighboring town by retired Brookfield Police Officer Greg Waldmiller that began with 15 flags mounted on poles along Route 7 near Brookfield’s Four Corners intersection during the summer of 2002. That project has grown each year, with more flags added on Route 25 each spring. Its presentation has also been shifted a little.

“We realized that the flags weren’t that visible [on Federal Road], so my wife Barbara suggested that we go up Route 25,” Mr Waldmiller said this week. “Now we put up 110 flags, starting from Brookfield Craft Center into the historic district [at the intersection of Route 133], as well as a portion of Longmeadow Hill Road.”

In June, Mr Arneth approached the Lions board of directors with his wish to do the same thing in Newtown. He received approval and club funding, and also picked up additional volunteers. First Selectman Joe Borst, said Mr Arneth, “was also very enthusiastic” when the idea was presented to him.

The club received permission to place the flags within the town’s historic district from the Borough last month.

“We approached [Borough Warden] Jim Gaston with our idea and he was ecstatic,” said Mr Arneth. “He was pleased with the idea, but asked us to attend a Borough board meeting for official approval. They told us they had in fact been looking into doing the same thing but had never gotten the idea off the ground.”

When reached this week, Mr Gaston continued to show support for the new show of patriotism in the center of town.

“I thought it was a wonderful idea. I think they did a phenomenal job,” said the borough warden. “I don’t know how they did it because a number of groups, including the Borough, had looked into it and the utility company told them No [that they couldn’t put anything onto a utility pole]. They got them to say Yes.

“Plaudits to them. Fantastic. We couldn’t be happier about this,” Mr Gaston added. “It really enhances that part of town.”

Mr Arneth, Lions Club President Tom Evagash, and Mr McLaughlin spent their early Sunday morning installing brackets and hanging flags along the 30 utility poles they had targeted for the inaugural season. The other members of the flag committee — Whalen Johnson and Vince LaSorsa — were out of town last weekend and therefore unable to help with the first installation.

The job would have gone even faster than the three hours it took had a promised cherry picker arrived Sunday morning. After waiting 30 minutes for the picker to arrive, Mr Arneth and Mr Evagash ran to their homes and grabbed ladders.

The club invested in three-by-five-foot flags, and each is attached to a six-foot pole. Mr Arneth’s grandchildren, Molly and Danny Arneth, spent time putting the flags on the poles the previous day, which helped expedite Sunday’s installation.

The flags will remain on the poles this year until about October 1, Mr Arneth said Sunday from atop his ladder. Beginning next year, the club plans to hang the flags a few weeks before Memorial Day and will leave them in place until shortly after 9/11.

Flags will be replaced regularly, said Mr Arneth.

“Greg Waldmiller was very forthcoming with advice and suggestions to help us with this,” Mr Arneth said. “For one thing, he told us to spend money to get good brackets for the flags but not to worry as much about the flags themselves because the weather would do a number on them every season. We’ll probably replace the flags every year.”

The Lions Club also purchases a new summer flag for the flagpole in the center of Main Street each year.

It was also Mr Waldmiller’s suggestion that had the club put the flags up on Sunday morning.

“He said that would be the best time because there would be the least amount of traffic,” said Mr Arneth, before adding with a smile, “Of course, he also starts at 5 o’clock in the morning. We decided to sleep in a little.”

Brookfield also follows the pre-Memorial Day to post-9/11 schedule of flying its flags, said Mr Arneth. “That seems to make sense to me, to do the same thing.”

It did not take long for last weekend’s work to get noticed.

“We finished on Sunday right around 9:45, so I was able to get to church by 10,” said Mr Arneth, who attends Newtown Congregational Church. “When our minister asked for prayers from the congregation, someone raised their hand and said, ‘We need to thank whoever put the beautiful flags up along Main Street.’”