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Show i t t , " . ' . " V ",'' n ' " ' , ' "Ulw" . - -'' ' .,. lij!! fe 1. ,.,.h ., .P " " t .lp do krr V'' ;JAf ,'4 f r- . v - by Kevin V. Brown 3 ' I was an important day in the life of the young schoolteacher. Before him, his pupils sat expectantly. On his desk, in a water glass, was an American flag. In his heart was a dream. One by one, the youngsters went through their assigned tasks. The graduating class read essays on the history of the flag. The younger ones gave impromptu talks on what the Stars and Stripes meant to them. Throughout, the young teacher beamed proudly. cobbleThe date was June 14, 1885; the place, a stone schoolhouse on a hill near Fredonia, Wis. The teacher was Bernard J. Cigrand, then only 19. Cigrand was born near Fredonia, the youngest son of an immigrant blacksmith. From his earliest days he cherished the flag as a symbol of America's proud heritage. Yet it worried him that Americans, who unfurled flags on such patriotic occasions as the Fourth of July and the birthdays of famous Presidents, never celebrated the birth- ;;'t? . .. - . . ' - - 1 'illi t one-roo- m 2 1 v - day of the flag itself. Cigrand knew it had one. On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress, with no debate and barely 30 words, created the national banner with this resolution: i in J ; 1 "That the Flag of the 13 Onited States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." The rest is a mystery. Almost nothing is known about how or why the Stars and .Stripes' design was chosen. Even the role of Betsy Ross is in dispute. The date, however, was enough for Cigrand. He vowed to make Americans re- So easy to vary with fruit! Light as a bubble ! 5p So fluffy-lig- ht ... no other pudding is so delightfully different! So easy to digest never, never heavy. TAPIOCA So nourishing . . .with fresh eggs 'n milk, but not loaded with calories. Kids love it! t member it. Cigrand went on to become dean of a dental school and a widely known civic leader. Yet he never forgot his dream. Within a year of those first simple ceremonies, Cigrand appealed through newspapers for a national observance on June 14. Later he helped found the National Flag Day Association, dedicated to establishing Flag Day and promoting greater respect for the national emblem. A prolific writer and speaker, he made unending appeals, through magazine articles, from the lecture platform, and in letters to Presidents, to promote the holiday that meant Con-gressmenN- so much to him. So versatile . . . for Pineapple Tapioca Fluff stir in 1 cup crushed pineapple, 2 tbsp. sugar before serving. More recipes at your grocer's. TODAY'S QUICK-A- N A fla prodoet of Gnwml Poods MINUTE TAPIOCA CREAM Cigrand's relentless campaign bore fruit in 1916. With war guns booming in Europe and a new patriotic fervor springing up at home, President Wilson chose that year to proclaim Flag Day and to ask Americans to display the flag and recall its glorious past on June 14. After three decades, the dream of a country schoolteacher had come true. Ironically, it was three more decades before Americans 14 Family Weekly, June 9, 1957 |