Flagpole

Residents of the western Howard County community of Poplar Springs have long been a resourceful bunch, if this bit of Civil War history is any indication. According to a story credited to one G. Earl Hilton, a detachment of Confederate cavalry with headquarters in New Market and Frederick from Sept. 7 to Sept. 11, 1862, rode into Poplar Springs at some point to rest and water their horses. "In the center of town was a large wooden flagpole," according to the account by Jane Bowman Fleming in Howard's Roads To The Past.

Slanted rays of late afternoon sunshine hit the enormous American flag billowing over Fort McHenry, spotlighting the stars and stripes in a dazzling glow of red, white and blue. Old Glory always flies at the Baltimore fort. And on this day the biggest of four versions in the landmark's repertoire happened to be atop the flagpole - a 30-by-42-foot replica of the one that inspired a certain poem-turned-anthem 195 years ago. Better still for the couple dozen visitors who braved the icy breeze, there was more to do than just look.

At 7 a.m. yesterday, while their classmates were still hustling out the door for school, 44 Oakland Mills High School students joined hands around the school's flagpole for a few minutes of Christian prayer."

When Lindsay Major Ringgold returns to her Elkridge condominium each day, the sight of a modest American flag on the patio of her first-floor unit gives her comfort. Along with a large yellow ribbon tied to a tree nearby, the flag is a poignant reminder of her husband, Sgt. James Ringgold, a member of the Army Reserve serving in Iraq. "It makes me think of him," she said, explaining her emotional attachment to the fraying flag that has flown since August 2006, just after the couple bought the unit and were married.

It was perhaps the last giddy excess of the Jazz Age when, during the summer of 1929, Baltimore for some unknown reason became the flagpole sitting capital of America.During one week in 1929, the city had 20 flagpole sitters (17 boys and three girls), who were no doubt influenced in their lofty pursuits by the famed Alvin Aloysius "Shipwreck" Kelly.Earlier that summer, Kelly, who called himself the "Luckiest Fool on Earth" and who was credited with starting the craze of flagpole sitting that swept the nation, had established a record by sitting on a flagpole for 22 days and six hours above New York's Madison Square Garden.

Christian students at several county public and private schools plan to gather for 7 a.m. prayer sessions at their schools' flagpoles tomorrow, part of an international, student-led event called "See You At the Pole.""I think that it's a good way to deliver a message to everyone of what I believe that they might not know about me," said Greg Buckler, 16, a junior at Oakland Mills High School in Columbia, who plans to participate. "The message is, 'With Christ you can have good things and have a good life.

When is a flagpole not a flagpole? How about when it's a cellular phone tower?In its latest attempt to disguise unsightly antennae, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. plans to build a 125-foot flagpole -- with lights and an American flag -- in the Anneslie Shopping Center on York Road near Towson. The equipment would be tucked inside the pole.The move comes after community opposition last fall thwarted the company's proposal to build a cellular site camouflaged as a bell tower at nearby St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church.

When Lindsay Major Ringgold returns to her Elkridge condominium each day, the sight of a modest American flag on the patio of her first-floor unit gives her comfort. Along with a large yellow ribbon tied to a tree nearby, the flag is a poignant reminder of her husband, Sgt. James Ringgold, a member of the Army Reserve serving in Iraq. "It makes me think of him," she said, explaining her emotional attachment to the fraying flag that has flown since August 2006, just after the couple bought the unit and were married.

Rick Sharpe restores Chris-Craft boats in his garage in Millersville and has completed work on his 1927 Cadet. The previous owner modified the boat by putting in a different engine, gauges and exhaust system. Sharpe had to use only five nonoriginal pieces of wood in the restoration. The boat still has its original Chris-Craft wooden flagpole and sports a 289-cubic-inch flathead Chrysler engine. Sharpe is now restoring a 1948 Runabout.

One of Baltimore's tallest buildings just became Baltimore's tallest flagpole.Six Saint Paul Center, the 29-story office tower that recently was taken over by Chemical Banking Corp. of New York, now sports one of the largest flags in the city -- and certainly the highest. It flies from a 150-foot flagpole atop the building's slender "steeple."Steve Gassaway of the Baltimore office of C. B. Commercial the new leasing and management agent for the building, said the 20-by-30-foot flag was installed because the new owners couldn't understand why the flagpole was never used.

Rick Sharpe restores Chris-Craft boats in his garage in Millersville and has completed work on his 1927 Cadet. The previous owner modified the boat by putting in a different engine, gauges and exhaust system. Sharpe had to use only five nonoriginal pieces of wood in the restoration. The boat still has its original Chris-Craft wooden flagpole and sports a 289-cubic-inch flathead Chrysler engine. Sharpe is now restoring a 1948 Runabout.

Residents of the western Howard County community of Poplar Springs have long been a resourceful bunch, if this bit of Civil War history is any indication. According to a story credited to one G. Earl Hilton, a detachment of Confederate cavalry with headquarters in New Market and Frederick from Sept. 7 to Sept. 11, 1862, rode into Poplar Springs at some point to rest and water their horses. "In the center of town was a large wooden flagpole," according to the account by Jane Bowman Fleming in Howard's Roads To The Past.

Taneytown to dedicate new flagpole on June 13 A 35-foot flagpole will be erected in the traffic circle in Taneytown in time for Flag Day on June 14, after a fund-raising campaign by the Taneytown Republican Women's Club. The new flagpole is to be dedicated at 2 p.m. June 13, said Fairy Flickinger, head of the club's fund-raising committee. The committee spent about nine months raising more than $2,500 needed for the project. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, a Republican representing Western Maryland, has donated the flag, she said.

Despite the vandalism of more than 40 flagpoles this week at an Arbutus American Legion post, leaders there will conduct a scheduled Memorial Day observation tomorrow morning. The service at the Dewey Lowman American Legion Post 109 will begin at 9 a.m. with official military ceremonies. Throughout the day, the post's six television screens will carry the dedication of the World War II memorial in Washington. Early Monday, vandals bent 44 flagpoles to the ground at the post, at 1610 Sulphur Spring Road.

Over the objections of Northwest Baltimore residents, the city's zoning board yesterday unanimously approved constructing a 100-foot AT&T Wireless antenna at 3100 Clarks Lane. The company plans to erect the tower - disguised as a flagpole - at an apartment complex on Clarks Lane just north of Fallstaff Road. It is needed to fill a gap in the company's cell phone network and other services, AT&T Wireless officials said yesterday. This made no difference to the 165 residents who signed a petition against the flagpole and the approximately 60 who showed up yesterday to oppose what they considered an intrusion and eyesore in their neighborhood.

Over the objections of Northwest Baltimore residents, the city's zoning board yesterday unanimously approved constructing a 100-foot AT&T Wireless antenna at 3100 Clarks Lane. The company plans to erect the tower - disguised as a flagpole - at an apartment complex on Clarks Lane just north of Fallstaff Road. It is needed to fill a gap in the company's cell phone network and other services, AT&T Wireless officials said yesterday. This made no difference to the 165 residents who signed a petition against the flagpole and the approximately 60 who showed up yesterday to oppose what they considered an intrusion and eyesore in their neighborhood.

Taneytown to dedicate new flagpole on June 13 A 35-foot flagpole will be erected in the traffic circle in Taneytown in time for Flag Day on June 14, after a fund-raising campaign by the Taneytown Republican Women's Club. The new flagpole is to be dedicated at 2 p.m. June 13, said Fairy Flickinger, head of the club's fund-raising committee. The committee spent about nine months raising more than $2,500 needed for the project. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, a Republican representing Western Maryland, has donated the flag, she said.

Over the objections of Northwest Baltimore residents, the city's zoning board yesterday unanimously approved constructing a 100-foot AT&T Wireless antenna at 3100 Clarks Lane. The company plans to erect the tower - disguised as a flagpole - at an apartment complex on Clarks Lane just north of Fallstaff Road. It is needed to fill a gap in the company's cell phone network and other services, AT&T Wireless officials said yesterday. This made no difference to the 165 residents who signed a petition against the flagpole and the approximately 60 who showed up yesterday to oppose what they considered an intrusion and eyesore in their neighborhood.

It was perhaps the last giddy excess of the Jazz Age when, during the summer of 1929, Baltimore for some unknown reason became the flagpole sitting capital of America.During one week in 1929, the city had 20 flagpole sitters (17 boys and three girls), who were no doubt influenced in their lofty pursuits by the famed Alvin Aloysius "Shipwreck" Kelly.Earlier that summer, Kelly, who called himself the "Luckiest Fool on Earth" and who was credited with starting the craze of flagpole sitting that swept the nation, had established a record by sitting on a flagpole for 22 days and six hours above New York's Madison Square Garden.

LAST WEEK many students across the county met at the flagpole in front of their schools and prayed. They prayed for fellow students, for teachers and for national leaders as part of a nationwide prayer movement called See You at the Pole (SYATP).Since 1990, students in Carroll County have participated in this annual Christian prayer gathering, which takes place before the school day begins on the third Wednesday of September.Wednesday morning was damp and drizzly, but that didn't keep about 120 students from gathering outside Westminster High School; 70 students prayed together at Liberty High School and similar numbers gathered at other county high schools.