Above you see our "Pledge of Allegiance" and a service dog from Canine Companions for Independence holding our beloved flag, "Old Glory."Patriotic pup, too cute not to post. Don't you think?

Anyway...

I was reminiscing on years past in grade school, middle school, and high school when the bell would ring(or a ringing tone of sorts) and we would take our seats in our own respective classes. In grade school, we checked our desks to make sure everything we left the day before was still, in fact, in our very own assigned desk. In middle school, making sure we brought the correct homework assignment(s) to all of our classes completed, by the bell...always completed by the bell. That was the rule, right?  In high school, we made sure to be at school, on time, cell phones off and that we were in the right class.

Whatever year I was I always knew what to expect to come over the intercom starting at 8:00 am sharp. The announcements for the week, birthday celebrations, and the tradition that never wavered...saying the "Pledge of Allegiance."I always loved this tradition in school. This tradition, however, seem to fade as the years have advanced. Approaching "Flag Day," I just wanted to know what it was that made this day, tradition, and this flag so special to the American people. So, I did some research....


The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America's birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as 'Flag Birthday'. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as 'Flag Birthday', or 'Flag Day'.

On June 14, 1889, George Balch, a kindergarten teacher in New York City, planned appropriate ceremonies for the children of his school, and his idea of observing Flag Day was later adopted by the State Board of Education of New York. On June 14, 1891, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia held a Flag Day celebration, and on June 14 of the following year, the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution, celebrated Flag Day.

Following the suggestion of Colonel J Granville Leach (at the time historian of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution), the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America on April 25, 1893 adopted a resolution requesting the mayor of Philadelphia and all others in authority and all private citizens to display the Flag on June 14th. Leach went on to recommend that thereafter the day be known as 'Flag Day', and on that day, school children be assembled for appropriate exercises, with each child being given a small Flag.

Two weeks later on May 8th, the Board of Managers of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution unanimously endorsed the action of the Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames. As a result of the resolution, Dr. Edward Brooks, then Superintendent of Public Schools of Philadelphia, directed that Flag Day exercises be held on June 14, 1893 in Independence Square. School children were assembled, each carrying a small Flag, and patriotic songs were sung and addresses delivered.

In 1894, the governor of New York directed that on June 14 the Flag be displayed on all public buildings. With BJ Cigrand and Leroy Van Horn as the moving spirits, the Illinois organization, known as the American Flag Day Association, was organized for the purpose of promoting the holding of Flag Day exercises. On June 14th, 1894, under the auspices of this association, the first general public school children's celebration of Flag Day in Chicago was held in Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks, with more than 300,000 children participating. Adults, too, participated in patriotic programs.

Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, delivered a 1914 Flag Day address in which he repeated words he said the flag had spoken to him that morning: "I am what you make me; nothing more. I swing before your eyes as a bright gleam of color, a symbol of yourself."

Inspired by these three decades of state and local celebrations, Flag Day - the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 - was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30th, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

This flag serves more purpose than the tests of time...it serves as our beacon of hope. I think this breakdown of what allegiance we pledged all of those years needs to be broken down. So, here you go a commentary of the "Pledge of Allegiance" by Red Skelton:

I - - Me; an individual; a committee of one.

Pledge - - Dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity.

Allegiance - - My love and my devotion.

To the Flag - - Our standard; Old Glory ; a symbol of Freedom; wherever she waves there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, Freedom is everybody's job.

United - - That means that we have all come together.

States - - Individual communities that have united into forty-eight great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose. All divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that is love for country.

And to the Republic - - Republic--a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people; and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.

For which it stands

One Nation - - One Nation--meaning, so blessed by God.

Indivisible - - Incapable of being divided.

With Liberty - - Which is Freedom; the right of power to live one's own life, without threats, fear, or some sort of retaliation.

And Justice - - The principle, or qualities, of dealing fairly with others.

For All - - For All--which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.


Why would a tradition like this ever begin to disappear in our schools? It is a symbol of the freedom and the liberty guaranteed to me by the Constitution of this, the greatest of all nations. It is a beacon of hope to millions around the world who know and understand what that flag stands for. We should continue this tradition, but not only in our schools. This should be proclaimed united for those who have fought, still defend, and have fallen in the line of duty to protect the rights we have: to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Freedom. It is a precious gift, defend it, protect it, and honor it.

On June 6, 2013, at the historic Mac Arthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, I had the privilege of attending a celebration of a lifetime. The 100th Centennial Celebration Gilbert Marshall Chapter’s Daughters of the American Revolution in Little Rock, Arkansas. Now, you may be asking yourself, “What is the DAR? Who on earth is this Gilbert Marshall? What is so extraordinary about this 100th celebration? Well, I’ll tell you what is so fantastical about this particular celebration.

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded on October 11, 1890, during a time that was marked by a revival in patriotism and intense interest in the beginnings of the United States of America. Women felt the desire to express their patriotic feelings and were frustrated by their exclusion from men's organizations formed to perpetuate the memory of ancestors who fought to make this country free and independent. As a result, a group of pioneering women in the nation's capital formed their own organization and the Daughters of the American Revolution has carried the torch of patriotism ever since.



The objectives laid forth in the first meeting of the DAR have remained the same in over 100 years of active service to the nation. Those objectives are: Historical - to perpetuate the memory and spirit of the men and women who achieved American Independence; Educational - to carry out the injunction of Washington in his farewell address to the American people, "to promote, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge, thus developing an enlightened public opinion…"; and Patriotic - to cherish, maintain, and extend the institutions of American freedom, to foster true patriotism and love of country, and to aid in securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty. Since, its founding in 1890, DAR has admitted more than 800,000 members.

The DAR is a non-profit, non-political volunteer women's service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism, preserving American history, and securing America's future through better education for children. DAR members volunteer more than 250,000 hours annually to veteran patients, award thousands of dollars in scholarships and financial aid each year to students, and support schools for underserved children with annual donations exceeding one million dollars.

As one of the most inclusive genealogical societies in the country, DAR boasts 170,000 members in 3,000 chapters across the United States and internationally. Any woman 18 years or older-regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background-who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution, is eligible for membership.

My chapter name, Gilbert Marshall, was chosen to honor the ancestor of the Organizing Regent, Mrs. Thomas Dwight Crawford. Gilbert Marshall of Albermarle County, Virginia was the father of John Marshall, 20, who entered the Revolution on April 11, 1776, as an Ensign in Colonel Samuel Miles' Pennsylvania Militia, and retired as Captain in 1783.

This particular celebration was extraordinary not only because it was our 100th Centennial Celebration, all of the women in the DAR in Arkansas and around the United States came to this event. It’s not every day your chapter, anything really, turns 100…it calls for a celebration.



What better way to celebrate 100 years than having a variety of assorted patriotic cakes? Exactly, there is no other way to celebrate. White cake, chocolate, butter cream, Italian, lemon curd as far as the eye could see. How was I to choose which cake to eat? Simple, sample them all. Of course, I didn’t…I surely tried, though. In the midst of this beautiful reception were the melodious tunes of Ragtime, Jazz, Patriotic songs of the past and present echoing throughout the halls of the museum from the piano played by our very own, Euloise Bethea. In ever room you were greeted by one of our members, perhaps in a themed costume from a particular decade. Oh yes, we went all out…with decadent and delicious cakes to themed costumes from our history past (June 6,1913-June 6, 2013)






The service for the 100th Centennial Celebration commenced at 5:00 pm, beginning with the presentation of colors from Central High School’s Jr. ROTC. Followed by singing the National Anthem(Star Spangled Banner), which I had the honor singing.


In this very moment, I was overwhelmed with joy and honor to have the privilege to be a part of this Society and the opportunity to share this celebration with these incredible women.