When drivers come into the city of Prineville from Highway 26, the large flag at the top of the grade is a welcome and patriotic greeting.
The enormous and stately flag has a unique history, and it was recognized by the Bend Chapter of National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in a ceremony held at a Prineville Band of Brothers meeting in June.
The Bend DAR chapter recently set out to find some of the most patriotic displays of the American Flag in the Central Oregon area. In this endeavor, the displays take into consideration the United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Patriotic Customs. There are several sections to these guidelines, including conduct during the playing of the National Anthem, Pledge of Allegiance, display and use of the Flag, flag rules and patriotic customs.
"I thought a little contest in our Bend Chapter would be a way to stimulate Flag awareness in our communities," explained Bend Chapter member, Theresa Pitman. "At our monthly meeting, ladies presented pictures with names of businesses that were flying the United States flag properly, correctly displayed, and patriotically presented. At our last Bend Chapter meeting in May, five flags were chosen."
On July 23, Pitman, representing the Bend DAR Chapter, presented a certificate to the Prineville Band of Brothers for their part in maintaining and displaying the United States American Flag on the flagpole of the AT&T cell tower, located on Rosendin Electric property in Crook County. The certificate was received by member John Ferguson on behalf of the other fellow members who have been instrumental in raising and maintaining the flag throughout the years. A D V E R T I S I N G | Continue reading below
"There are five in our area; Prineville, Bend and Redmond, that really comply with all the rules of displaying the flag. There were at least a dozen flags submitted, and five were chosen, including the cell tower flag," said Pitman of the flags taken into consideration.
"It is so awesome, and it really greets you when you come into Prineville."
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) was founded in 1890, and is a nonprofit, non-political, volunteer women's service organization dedicated to preserving American history, serving America's future through better education and promoting patriotism.
The DAR is comprised of approximately 3,000 chapters in all 50 states, with more than one million members in the District of Columbia, and internationally. The National Society's motto is God, home and country. The President General is the official spokesperson for the National Society. Pitman has been a member since 2017, and although she is a local resident, the Bend Chapter has 106 members from Central Oregon. There are 34 chapters in Oregon.
The 30x50-foot cell tower flag is the tallest flag in Central Oregon. It is located on Rosendin Electric property in Crook County, just before the grade leading to Prineville begins its downhill climb. Members of the Prineville Band of Brothers and Rosendin employees hoisted the United States flag to the top of the 110-foor cell tower on Sept. 27, 2018, for the second time, so it could fly 24 hours per day. It previously had to be taken down for repairs for four months prior to that date, before being permanently displayed.
Seth Crawford shared the origins of the flag when he was on the Prineville Planning Commission in 2018. AT&T wanted to locate a cell tower at the entrance to Prineville (top of the grade). A D V E R T I S I N G | Continue reading below
"Myself, and quite a few of the other commissioners were against it, but we did see it as a really positive thing to get more connectivity to the community, so we were really torn," explained Crawford.
The planning commission tried to find a solution to mitigate the eyesore that the tower would create, and Crawford observed that there was a cell tower with a flag on it in Bend.
"I said, 'That is kind of cool. What if we did the cell tower with an enormous flag?'"
Upon talking to AT&T on the potential of creating a flagpole and a large flag, they received a green light after the idea was proposed to the AT&T engineers. Wanting to adapt the cell tower pole from AT&T on Rosendin's property to a flagpole, it took some retrofitting to accommodate such a large flag.
The original flag was ordered in partnership with a similar organization in Burns, Oregon, which also displays a flag of the same size in its community. Crawford added that Susan Crawford, CPA, manages the 501(C) (3) flag account.
"We banded together with the Burns community," said Crawford. A D V E R T I S I N G | Continue reading below
By doing a bulk purchase, they saved a great deal of money, and they always have three extra flags. The flags currently cost $1,199.50 per flag.
Initially, the flag could only be raised during special events and taken down that same evening, due to the flag code, Title 36, Chapter 10, Section 174 (a):
"It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed 24-hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness."
Crawford indicated that Facebook paid for the lights to illuminate the flag, which were installed by Rosendin Electric. The electricity in perpetuity for the life of the pole was covered by AT&T.
"After that, we put it up, except for really windy times of the year, and take it down to get it fixed or repaired," added Crawford.
The group employs the skills of Besty West to repair the flag. West is a professional seamstress. A D V E R T I S I N G | Continue reading below
"Over the years, Betsy has been a basic help in keeping it flying," said Crawford.
"She is always taking care of that, and it is pretty awesome, because it is 50 feet long," Ferguson said.
Ferguson takes charge of ensuring that there are members from the Band of Brothers, Rosendin employees or other veteran members in the community to assist with the flag raising and lowering. It takes five individuals to raise the flag, including at least three to hoist the flag, as it weighs in excess of 80 pounds.
"I never go up if there is any wind," added Ferguson.
He said that they take the flag down during windy months, such as the month of March. He pointed out that the day they originally raised the flag, the wind was strong, and lifted several of them off the ground. Crawford added that the flag caught a gust of wind, just like a sail filling with wind, and drug them in the gravel below.
"It was pretty intense," he concluded.
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