Flying high in Dallas, where every day is Flag Day
It’s largely forgotten amongst all the roses, chocolates and love that surround Valentine’s Day.
However when people wake up on Wednesday, Feb. 15, hung over from the romance of the previous day, there is another special day to celebrate.
Flag Day is Feb. 15 — a day to commemorate the introduction of the Canadian flag in 1965.
Though Kamloopsians can go out and buy their own symbol of the nation to mark the occasion, one Dallas couple will be making sure the Maple Leaf gets its due.
Bill and Georgena Green have a 20-foot flagpole standing at the edge of their backyard.
Every few days for the past three years, the Greens have been raising a different flag for any number of occasions.
Bill said he got the idea from a neighbour who started the tradition.
When the neighbour passed away, the Greens inherited the flagpole, along with several flags.
Today, the quiet couple has amassed more than 60 flags, including banners from all 10 provinces and three territories.
“I think it’s a neat hobby,” Bill said, noting people have stopped to take pictures of the flag du jour.
When a powerful earthquake and tsunami hit Japan last year, the Greens flew the Japanese flag in a show of support.
But, perhaps the most fitting flags in the collection are two predecessors to the Maple Leaf, the Canadian Red Ensign.
Georgena recalled being in Grade 9 when she and her classmates were called to the gymnasium for the unveiling of Canada’s new flag.
“I like it,” she said of the design now 47 years young.
On Flag Day, Bill will step out to his backyard like he’s done a hundred time before and take two minutes to change the flag.
It will be the red and white Maple Leaf, in recognition of the symbol of Canada known around the world.
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