New sponsor sought for pole’s flags
Spokane Club has taken care of city site
The flagpole in the median of Riverside Avenue outside the Spokane Club is looking for a new support system.
There’s nothing wrong with the foundation or the pole, but the civic group that’s taken care of it since 2002 has retired and there’s just one flag left.
“Daybreak Rotary rededicated the flagpole in 2002, on the anniversary of 9/11, and put a plaque there,” said Victor Frazier, bell captain at the Spokane Club. “They sponsored a flag. The Spokane Club has bought a few flags and perhaps some other organizations purchased flags too, that we kept here at the club, but now we only have one left.”
On Saturday, American Legion members and Boy Scouts from Troop 130 will replace the current flag with a new one at a small ceremony beginning at 10:30 a.m.
“The Boy Scouts will bring down the old flag, fold it and bring out the new one,” said Scott Mallery, assistant scoutmaster with Troop 130. “Members of the American Legion Post 9 will be there too, as will the American Legion honor guard.”
The flagpole is owned by the city of Spokane, but Frazier said the Spokane Club has essentially adopted it, cleaning up around it, keeping replacement flags and retiring the old flags as they’ve gotten worn out.
“The flag is up 365 days a year, day and night, because it has a light on it,” said Frazier. “Under those circumstances the flags last about a year. The one that’s up there right now is quite tattered.”
Frazier said he believes the pole has been there since the 1920s and it hasn’t always had a flag on it.
New flags should measure 12-by-18 feet to match the pole, Frazier said.
“They are about $250 to $300 for a good-quality flag,” he added. “I’m hoping someone will see this as civic service opportunity, and help us keep a flag on the pole.”