Memorial Day is the traditional beginning of Michigan’s summer season. As is my own family’s custom and with much anticipation, we open the cottage and enjoy our first boat rides of this special time of the year. Included with this annual ceremony one can’t help but think of the great history of our nation, of why we celebrate Memorial Day as a national holiday and why we fly our American Flags.

We as a country have a history-rich inventory of flags through our many wars, revolutions and historical incidents. During these next few weeks of summer, we will be recognizing Flag Day, the 4^th of July & Labor Day. In honor of we, the American people and those we hold dear in memory or currently active service men and women. It is heart-warming to see the red, white and blue, waving across our sunny blue Michigan skies!

There are four flags that I particularly enjoy during our summer equinox and pictured at left is one (click the image to view larger), The Betsy Ross. As the story goes, Betsy Ross was commissioned by the Continental Congress to design the national flag in the spring of 1776: Designed during the American Revolution, this flag features 13 starts to represent the original 13 colonies.
See the PDF here (click link): Historical Flags to Fly PDF

The PDF above is a wonderful article on three other US flags you can fly: the Star-Spangled Banner, the Grand Union flag and the Bennington flag! With a bit of history beside each flag; this is a fascinating read!

– Linda Pell @ www.grandrapidsliving.com | #grandrapidsliving