Old Glory was the star of the show Saturday at the Fort Vancouver National Site.
The stars and stripes appeared patterned on shirts, hats and socks. Kids clenched small flags fastened to sticks. And an award was given out for the best red, white and blue necktie.
Dozens of people showed their love for the American flag by pledging allegiance to it, singing about it and learning of its history.
The fanfare was in honor of Flag Day, deemed a national holiday by President Harry S. Truman in 1949. Clark County residents celebrated at the annual Flag Day at Fort Vancouver ceremony at the national site.
“The American flag is not just a piece of fabric,” said Jose Scott, the 2014 Marshall Youth Leadership Award recipient, who spoke at the event. “The flag of the United States of America represents courage, prosperity, independence and freedom.”
Nothing, Scott said, is more recognizable than the U.S. flag.
“People feel safe in the presence of the American flag,” he said.
Members of the Prairie High School Air Force Junior ROTC presented the flag, and the Celebrate Freedom Band performed the national anthem. Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt read a Flag Day proclamation. And Dale Rex, commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The hourlong event ended with the annual Clark County Mayors’ Patriotic Tie Contest. Members of Vancouver Boy Scouts Troop 359 and Cub Scouts Pack 320 and Pack 560 judged the contest.
In the end, the judges couldn’t pick one winner. The patriotic tie contest ended in a tie. Leavitt and Yacolt Mayor Jeff Carothers will share the trophy for the next year.
Battle Ground Mayor Shane Bowman paid homage to his Scouting background by wearing his Scouts tie and brown shirt. Camas Mayor Scott Higgins wore a flag tie featuring an eagle that was picked out by his kids.
“I have two daughters, and they wanted to accessorize,” Higgins said, pointing out his flag-patterned sunglasses and socks.
Ridgefield Councilor David Taylor, filling in for Mayor Ron Onslow, wore a flag tie and sparkly red, white and blue top hat. And Woodland Mayor Grover Laseke wore a tie made by a craftsman in Woodland and covered with images of the flag.
“It’s an exact replica of the flag I fly in front of my house every single day,” he said.
But, in the end, the ties of Leavitt and Carothers were declared most patriotic.
Leavitt’s handmade necktie was edged in rhinestones and featured “Rockets red glare” in light-up letters. Carothers, the reigning patriotic tie champion, wore an oversized red, white and blue striped tie. “God bless America” was written on the stripes of his glittery tie.
The tie, he said, symbolizes the patriotism of the small town he represents.
“This is a big patriotic tie,” he said.
