The Long-Desired Beauty And Dignity Of A Flagpole With An American Flag

Written by Joyce Cushman, a customer from North Kingstown, R.I. Cushman provided the photos and story in this blog as part of her “One Country. One Flag.” June submission about what the U.S. flag and being an American means to her. She was the June winner of our deluxe Beacon® U.S. flag set.

 

Cushman sent this message with her submitted photos:

“This photo was taken mid-May 2021 a few days after our beautiful American flag and flagpole were installed. My husband was sitting outside our back door early one morning admiring our long-desired flagpole and flag. For years, we have always had flags attached to our house, garage or gazebo, but we have long desired the beauty and dignity of a flagpole. The photo was taken by our neighbor with his cell phone early one morning as he walked past our 213-year-old home, which was built in 1808 before the Civil War. Our home is on Wickford Cove in Wickford Village, a historic village in North Kingstown, R.I. Our neighbor took the photo during his daily walk, and he shared it with us.” Cushman’s historic Wickford Village neighborhood is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Cushman also shared a photo of a 15-star wooden American flag and a wooden Betsy Ross flag. According to her, the 15-star wooden American flag was “handcrafted by my husband and hangs on our picket fence along the street.” Cushman provided the background story behind the two wooden flags: “Years ago, we replaced a small, old white picket fence on our property. I looked at the old pickets and suggested to my husband that he make folk art flags with the old pickets. His first project was the Betsy Ross flag and because there were a few pickets remaining he decided to use them for the 15-star flag as it is historically associated with the age of our home. We hung the 15-star flag on our new picket fence as a complement to our property. It remains there all year long.”

After learning that her photos helped her win an American flag set, Cushman said it was “a wonderful honor!” And once she received her new U.S. flag set, she said, “We just opened the package containing our beautiful and impressive flag set. Oh, my goodness. It is bright and beautiful! I am thinking I will hang it over our front door for all to see and appreciate as people walk and drive past our home. Thank you for the honor of this gift.”

 

Wickford Village, Rhode Island

Historic Wickford Village, R.I., is also known as HistWick. According to Histwick.org, “Wickford Village is a special place to visit. It’s one of the oldest preserved colonial villages in the country.” If you visit HistWick, you can “discover historic homes and public buildings. Sit next to the beautiful harbor on Narragansett Bay and learn about its rich maritime past. From the architecture to its legacy of entrepreneurs and influential women, Wickford Village is worth exploring.”

Wickford Village is in North Kingstown, R.I. and was named after Wickford in Essex, England. Wickford is about 12 miles from Newport, R.I. Wickford Village’s historic homes and buildings make up on of the “largest collections of 18^th century dwellings to be found anywhere in the northeast,” according to Wikipedia. Most of the homes and buildings “remain largely intact upon their original foundations.”

Online References: https://histwick.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickford,_Rhode_Island

 

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