Flags fly along R.H. Johnson Boulevard

Joan Stern only dabbles in sewing, but when she has to, she can be a veritable Betsy Ross.

The transformation to seamstress occurs when her husband comes home with damaged flags, hoping her stitching and sewing can keep them flying a while longer.

Joan Stern is president of American Legion Auxiliary Post 94 and her husband, Harold Stern, is the Post 94 commander.

"My mother was an accomplished seamstress but I just mend them as best I can," she said with a laugh. "Some of them really get torn up and if I can repair them and make them look better when I finish, they fly a lot better."

The flags fly along R.H. Johnson Boulevard in Sun City West for a week at a time during patriotic holidays such as Memorial Day and Flag Day, which is today.

Each time the flags are taken down, several must be repaired from damage caused by the wind or inclement weather, said Chet Gondek, a member of Post 94 who heads  the flag-raising.

"When we take them down, we look at them and if they're really in bad shape we put them aside but if they're not too bad they're repaired," he said. "Out here it depends on the weather. The winds are so bad, you can put a new one up and if the wind is bad it can be torn to shreds. It really depends on the weather."

Gondek said the 127 flags were previously flown continuously during the summer months, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but too many were damaged beyond repair. Now, the flags are flown for a week at a time and that has reduced the number of irreparable flags. Following the week around Memorial Day, 10 flags needed repairs versus more than 80 that were lost after last summer, Gondek said.

"In the last 12 years, we've had more than 300 flags that have needed repairs," he said.

Stern said most damaged flags need repairs along the seam where it attaches to the flag pole.

"Generally they're usually torn on the corners. I'll have to cut off a piece of it and sew it again," she said. "I don't think people really realize that they do get torn when they're out on the boulevard when the wind blows and someone has to take care of them. It's nice to see them flying again and not all ragged."

If flags are too damaged for repairs to be made, they're disposed of in one of two burial ceremonies. New flags are donated from families and friends of veterans who have military burials.

For Stern, the flag repair is something she'll continue and something for which she's proud to take part.

"It makes me feel good," she said. "It gives me a warm feeling."

Erin Turner may be reached at 623-876-2522 or eturner@yourwestvalley.com.