As Memorial Day approaches, preparations are underway for the flying of the American flags on Gloucester Harbor.
This effort, begun in 2001 by a group of volunteers, has a new way that people can fly a flag in honor of a loved as a way to raise money to keep alive what has become a Gloucester tradition.
Ringo Tarr, one of the volunteers, recalled in the first year that only four flags were put up on Stacy Boulevard for about a week.
“The response was so positive that it grew the following year,” he said. “It now ranges from 160 to 180 flags that runs from the Tavern to the tennis courts.”
The flags will go up the Thursday before Memorial Day, May 27, and remain up through Labor Day.
“When we are putting them up, people say that summer is finally here because the flags are going up again,” Tarr said.
Each year volunteers go through all the flags to properly retire the damaged ones because they deteriorate due to weather, Tarr said.
To defray the cost of new flags and related expenses, there is yearly fundraising. This year, people can obtain the form to fly a flag in honor of a loved one at the website, https://boulevardflags.com. These donations are facilitated through The Gloucester Fund, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Flags may be sponsored for a donation of $35; and donations of any kind are accepted.
There are many payment options, including Venmo, Paypal, check or credit cards.
As noted on the website, depending on the number of donations, not all flags may be flown the year the donation is made. Flags are not flown for a set amount of time; they are rotated depending on their condition. All flags remain property of The Gloucester Group.
General donations also can be made by mailing a check to The Gloucester Group, 18 Timberview Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930, or through the website.
Tarr said that he gets feedback from all over the world about this waterfront display of American flags.
“People think it’s the most amazing site to see the flags all lined up,” he said. “I never expected it to last this long.”
He also commented on the number of people who come to get their photos taken there.
Before the days of smartphones, Tarr would hear from a friend who ran a photo shop that she knew when the flags went up because she would be flooded with film to develop, many showing just that shot.