By Shannon Lukens.
Fifth graders at Ridgeview Elementary in Craig learned about the flag from local veterans Monday. Tara Garber is the Senior Vice Commander and Adjutant at the Craig VFW Post 4265.
“We came today to help guide the 5th grade students in the proper technique in lowering and raising the flag and how to fold it and giving them some education on proper flag etiquette, because they’re our future. And if don’t learn it and don’t learn it correctly, then our future generations are not going to know how to do it.”
Ray Beck showed the 5th graders his father’s flag, who served in WWII in the Army.
“This is all about teaching the kids the significance of the American flag and what it means to us as citizens and to the United States of America.”
The kids learned about the triangle shape of the flag and how it represents the tri-corner hats that were worn during the Revolutionary War, by George Washington and other soldiers who served in the Continental Army.
Why Is The American Flag Folded In A Triangle?
The students were shown the first flag that Betsy Ross made. There were 28 different flags before a 17-year-old student designed our current flag. That was in 1958, when 17-year-old Robert G. Heft was assigned an American history project while attending Lancaster High School in Ohio. There were discussions about adding Hawaii and Alaska as new states, and Heft decided to come up with a design for a 50-star flag from the current 48-star flag that was already in place.
- Betsy Ross Flag in 1777
- American Flags through the Years
- The Teenager Who Designed the Modern American Flag
There are six American flags on the moon.
Flags at half-staff were discussed. It happens on certain days like Veterans Day and Memorial Day and when a president or former president dies, or former officials or dignitaries.
The fifth grade teachers in the three Ridgeview classes are Brooke Hankins, Kim Serio, and Ashley Dalton.
The kids all received little flags, which were donated from Murdock’s in Craig.
Video of the kids waving their flags
