Robbinsville – In anticipation of Veterans Day, Graham County’s 4-H Leadership Club recently turned East Main Street into a street of flags, all the way from Rodney Orr Bypass to downtown Robbinsville.
Club members worked for months to sell sponsorships and install 80 poles and flags, each one flown in honor of the service
and sacrifice of a veteran or military service member.
Leadership Club member Klancy Stevens looked at the flag project as “a fantastic way to honor our veterans in Graham County” and “a big step up from the usual yellow ribbons we hang through town.”
Community members seemed to agree. Some passersby were so enthusiastic at the sight of students hoisting the red, white, and blue that they stopped to make unsolicited donations to the project.
Kim Hainge sponsored two flags: one for her husband, Jim Kriner and another for her father, James Hainge. Kim said that the flags “look wonderful. It stirs me to the depths to watch them waving in the wind in honor of our military forces.”
“The community has really seemed pleased with the project,” said Amy Holder, administrative assistant for the N.C. Cooperative Extension. “We have a great group of kids. They are busy working on different projects, but they are always willing to roll up their sleeves and work.”
Holder expects this year’s display to be the first of many.
“Hopefully, we can build on this project and include North and South Main Street sometime
in the future,” Holder added.
Stevens has high hopes for the future of the project, as well. She hopes to “sell more sponsorships next year and put flags all through town.”
“I hope this project has helped the citizens of this community put a little more thought into Veterans Day,” Stevens said.
The flags will fly through the month of November.