Two of the regulars on flag posting duty for the Imperial Lions Club are Merril Humphreys, left, and Dennis Batterman. Members are up early to post the flags at more than 60 locations in town, then take them down later that day. (Johnson Publications photo)
Promotion of patriotism a Lions Club 60-year effort
Imperial’s main street and many of its business fronts on side streets have had a long tradition of posting the American flag.
In these times when patriotism and respect for the flag have come into question, the Imperial Lions Club continues its efforts to work in the other direction.
This year marks the 60th year the Imperial Lions have been involved in posting of the American flag in the community.
Club members are up early in the morning on federal holidays and other special events, including the upcoming Chase County Fair, to post the U.S. flags at 62 sites, mostly businesses. Then about 5 p.m., they’re out again to take the flags down.
While club members now do the work in storing the flags, putting them up and taking them down, the Lions service project didn’t begin that way.
In late 1959, the Lions were encouraging local businesses to display the new 50-star flag on holidays after Alaska and Hawaii both became states earlier that year—Alaska on Jan. 3 and Hawaii on Aug. 21.
The flag-flying push from the Lions came after the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) had asked for display of the flags for Veterans Day that year, but had little response.
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