“We take the stars from heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity, representing our liberty.” ~ President George Washington

Summer is almost here. The daylight hours grow longer and temperatures are on the rise. On Tuesday we hit 90 degrees! The prediction of fog and possible drizzle was apparently just that –  a prediction. Remember that Friday, June 14 is Flag Day.

According to the National Flag Day Foundation, in 1885 a 19-year-old schoolmaster gave his students an assignment. He placed a 10-inch, 38-star flag in an inkwell at his one-room school house in Wisconsin. On June 14, the students were instructed to write essays on what the flag meant to them. He claimed that date as the flag’s birthday. The idea apparently spread. I wonder as to the contents of those essays.

In Philadelphia in 1776, there lived a flag-maker, Betsy Ross. Historians question if she actually made the first American flag. There is even debate of the material: wool or hemp? Hemp was used for ships’ sails and bonnets on covered wagons, being durable and resistant to the elements. Therefore, it was also the probable choice for our new flag.

The American Flag has withstood many storms, some natural and some man-made, throughout its history. As mentioned, the first unofficial “flag day” was in 1885. After three decades of similar state and local flag celebrations, on Aug. 3, 1949, President Truman designated June 14, National Flag Day. With this came the National Flag Code. The rules  are many, but since I write about weather (for the most part), the following pertain to outdoor home display:

• The flag should be displayed between sunrise and sunset except “when a patriotic effect is desired.”

• It should be illuminated at night.

• The flag should only be outside when the weather is fair except when the fabric is “all-weather.” OSH does not sell ones of hemp!

• It is the right of every U.S. citizen to fly the flag 365 days a year!

Not much change in the weather from last week. The typical fluctuation of onshore/off shore is set into next week. Highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s accompanied by light gusty winds are forecast.

Ideal conditions for flag flying!
Sue Kilpatrick is a Crescenta Valley
resident and Official Skywarn Spotter for the National Weather Service.
Reach her at  suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.

  Sue Kilpatrick