President's Report

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

When I was twenty-two, a college

friend and I decided that we would

spend the summer traveling

around Europe. Another friend

took us to New York where we

booked a round-trip ticket on Icelandic Airlines. They were

still using turboprop planes in those days. We traveled via

car, train, and thumb from Italy to Sweden and everywhere

else in between. When we hitchhiked, we always tried to

be neat neatly dressed and on our bags we each displayed an

American Flag. The American flag means something.

The first flags, known as the Stars and Stripes, went through

twenty-seven versions before the official one was adopted

on June 14, 1777. It symbolized unity and identity. The

flags were created as an item of military equipment to

identify United States ships and forts. During the War

of 1812 the British ships were fighting the Americans in

Baltimore Harbor. In the morning after the battle Francis

Scott Key looked up to Fort McHenry and saw the tattered

American flag still flying. In 1814 he wrote a poem that

later became the words of our National Anthem.

The popularity of the American flag exploded in 1861 after

Fort Sumter was bombarded at the beginning of the Civil

War. The battered flag that survived the bombardment was

taken down and went with the evacuated American troops.

After the war it was brought back and raised again at the

fort. Each fighting unit had their own individual flag, but it

was the American Flag of the Northern armies that united

the troops.

The Stars and Stripes represent freedom. This month we

celebrate two hundred and fifty years of freedom. No other

country can say that. In celebrating this nation’s birthday,

we also must remember that freedom is not free. It must

be maintained and even fought for. After years of history

that have passed, we are still here. The freedom we have in

this country has given us so much. We are grateful to those

citizens who have sacrificed over generations to bring this

about. We are so fortunate to live in the greatest country in

the world. On this anniversary, we must rededicate ourselves

to do our part in keeping America strong and free.

In Boy Scouts I was taught to respect the American Flag.

Each troop meeting would begin with the presentation of

the Flag, and then we would recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

We learned how to fold the flag and care for it because it

represented our country.

Several years ago, the Tuscawilla HOA made it possible

for our community to have an American flag at each of

our main entrances. We also provided money for new flags

and placed memorial plaques at the base of each flagpole.

When you drive into Tuscawilla, you will see these flags,

and you will be reminded that you live in a great country

that represents the precious freedom we all share.

America, Happy 250th Birthday

Dr. Kurt Miericke

THOA President

Publisher, Tuscawilla Today

Email: THOAws20@gmail.com