Lions raise flags over Charles City

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

By sunset on Thursday, the Charles City Lions Club had raised 590 American flags at businesses and residences in Charles City to add some patriotic color to the Memorial Day weekend.

It’s part of the club’s Flags Over Charles City (FOCC) program, which in a few short years has become the largest endeavor and biggest fundraiser for the local Lions.

FOCC Chairman Russ Schwarz said that more than 80% of the Lions Club’s 50-plus members are involved in some way.

“It occupies most of the Lions Club members in some part,” Schwarz said. “The ones who aren’t either assembling the flags or raising them are having one put up in their yards.”

The program began in 2019, when just over 100 flags were raised. Two years ago, that number skyrocketed to over 400, and this year it’s approaching 600.

Anyone with a yard can buy a flag, and Lions members will do all the work. For $30, the flags are put up for six days around five patriotic holidays — Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day and Veterans Day. As a bonus this year, flags will be put up on Tuesday-Friday for the RAGBRAI visit in Charles City.

The Lions also raise 32 sponsored flags at the Lions Rose Garden along the north side of the Cedar River in downtown Charles City and they help the VFW and the Boy Scouts put the flags up in Central Park and elsewhere.

Lions have been granted “special dispensation” from the local VFW — which is a relaxing of the flag rules for the FOCC program.

“The flags are all-weather flags and they are up 24 hours a day,” Schwarz said.

The 3-foot-by-5-foot flags fly on 10 foot flagpoles, 18 inches in the ground. Lions members assemble all the flags. They purchase all the materials from Ace Hardware, which is Schwarz’s place of business.

If someone wants a flag, application forms are available on the Lions website, and those can be delivered or mailed to Schwarz at Ace Hardware.

A team of Lions will come to the residence and stake out the area, a call will be made to make sure there are no underground pipes, cables or wires at that spot, and another team will come by later to place the mount and erect the flag.

Schwarz said that four other Lions Clubs have approached Charles City for guidance on launching their own flag-raising programs, including clubs in Osage and Reinbeck. Charles City got the idea from a similar program in Tipton, and has expanded on that model.

Over its 100 years of existing in Charles City, the Lions have given an estimated $1.5 million back to the community, including selling the Lions Field complex back to the community for just $1, with the stipulation that the park keep the “Lions” name in perpetuity. Most recently, the Lions contributed $8,000 for playground equipment at The Learning Center’s new North Grand location.