TODD THOMPSON
Leavenworth County Attorney
Special to Hutch Post
LEAVENWORTH, Kansas --- If you have a good idea—maybe even a great one—and you are persistent, you can make change.
We know of many people who have taken a simple idea and transformed the country, or even the world.
One of those people was Bernard J. Cigrand, a dentist and former schoolteacher who became one of the early advocates for establishing an official day honoring the American flag.
Born in Waubeka, Wisconsin, Cigrand became a teacher. He taught in a small one-room school known as Stony Hill School. Cigrand did not set out to start a movement; he only wanted to make the world a little better by educating children. And we all know there are few professions that are more noble—and more underappreciated—than teaching.
In 1885, Cigrand did what many teachers still do today: he looked for creative ways to help students understand and appreciate their country and how it came to be. He wanted the children to understand the meaning and importance of the American flag.
The stars represent the States in the Union. Together, those stars symbolize the unity of the states as one nation.
The stripes represent the original thirteen colonies.
The colors are commonly associated with red for valor and sacrifice, white for purity, and blue for vigilance and justice.
He explained how the flag had been approved by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. But he wanted that classroom lesson to do something more, so on June 14, 1885, he held a celebration honoring the American flag.
Yet Cigrand did not think that was enough. He spent decades promoting the idea that the United States should officially recognize Flag Day. He wrote articles, worked with civic organizations, and encouraged educators to celebrate the flag. Over the years, he delivered more than 2,100 speeches supporting the establishment of June 14 as Flag Day.
Like many movements, it started small. First schools, then communities, began recognizing the day.
Finally, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation recognizing Flag Day. Then, in 1949, Congress formally established June 14 as National Flag Day. Sadly, Cigrand died in 1932, seventeen years before seeing it officially recognized by Congress.
Yet even in death, Cigrand's passion, conviction, and perseverance lived on. His one idea from a small classroom grew into a national movement.
Cigrand stands for something most Americans hope is true: that anyone can make a difference. Not just groups, people in positions of power, or those with money. Just one person with a good idea and the determination to see it through.
Which is why I want to start a movement to bring back the practice of reading all the way to the end of an article before forming an opinion about it.