Chestnut Grove kick-starts outdoor American flag display tradition
FRANKLIN TWP — The Chestnut Grove senior condominium complex came alive with the colors red, white and blue on Friday, Nov. 8 — three days in advance of Veterans Day.
Nearly 500 miniature American flags lined the entrance to the neighborhood as part of a display organized by the complex’s homeowners’ association.
Of those, 96 or 97 flags outside the neighborhood’s clubhouse were paired with a named dog tag honoring a current or former resident of Chestnut Grove, or a relative of a resident, who served the country as a member of the armed forces.
According to Gary Weaver, a Chestnut Grove resident and HOA member, the flag display was the brainchild of an association member who told the Butler Eagle he wants to remain anonymous.
“He brought it up that he would like to work with the community and see if we could get together to make this happen,” Weaver said. “So we took up the collection and collected over $500 to buy the flags and to buy the little tags.”
The display drew plenty of attention when it was first unveiled Friday — both from residents of the community and from motorists who noticed it while driving by on New Castle Road.
“We had a lot of people driving by as we were putting them out today, blowing the horn in support of us,” Weaver said. “We had a nice turnout from the community here to install them and put the flags up, so it was a community effort.”
The association plans to put the flag display up at Chestnut Grove four times a year — for Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day and the Fourth of July.
Weaver says that the display may grow beyond the 500 or so flags that are currently placed in the neighborhood.
“It may grow because there’s more people getting involved since it’s up,” Weaver said. “People want to participate more when they actually see it happening.”
