9/11 Flag: Preserving a Piece of Oakland Township History

Ten years ago, a handful of Oakland Township employees helped preserve a symbol of patriotism during a tragic moment in United States history.

On Sept. 11, 2001, the flag at Township Hall, like many others around the country, was lowered to half mast. Oakland Township resident Janine Saputo was photographing something close by, and when she looked at the flag , it occurred to her that it was something worth saving.

“When it happened, there was a great emotional feeling toward patriotism and holding onto what we had as symbols,” Saputo said. “While I don’t think anyone connected to Oakland Township was involved or in the tragedy, it was such an outpouring of patriotism that I thought we should save a symbol for that day, and that flag was perfect.”

At the time, Saputo was serving as the chair of the Historic District Commission (HDC) and was well versed in preserving history. She said it was common for the commission to move to preserve other artifacts, but the 9/11 flag is the only flag she knows of that the HDC has ever saved.

Once Saputo and the commission agreed that preserving the flag was the right thing to do, the flag was retired, and Saputo set out to have it cleaned. Then, she took it to the American Legion in Lake Orion to have the large flag properly folded.

Safely preserving the flag was the last piece of the puzzle.

Standard flag boxes sold in stores were too small for that particular flag, so Saputo approached Robert Kasprzak – the husband of an Oakland Township employee and a carpenter by trade.

Kasprzak, of Troy, had done work for the township before, mostly because his wife, Carol, works in the Parks and Recreation Department. And though he is experienced in cabinetry and furniture making, he had never created a flag display case.

"I've been a carpenter all my life, so it wasn’t that tall of a task, and I was happy to do it," Kasprzak said. "I wanted it to be nice, knowing it would be on display and what it meant."

Soon after he was asked, Kasprzak went to work researching how to adequately preserve this symbol of Oakland Township’s patriotism. Once he figured out how to best approach it, he went to work on the oak box.

He noted the research took the longest, and once he knew how to approach the task, the job went quickly. Kasprzak said he is still pleased with the finished product.

It is a "beautiful wooden box," Saputo added.

Both Kasprzak and Saputo estimate the whole process – from retiring the flag to preserving it in the custom-built case – took two months.

"I was honored to do it," Kasprzak said. "It was a very important day that impacted a lot of people’s lives, and it needs to be remembered so in 30 years, people look back on it and reflect on it.”

After Kasprzak crafted the triangular glass and wood box, Saputo vaguely recalls the HDC hosting a small ceremony for the piece. Since that ceremony, the flag box has been perched in the township meeting room.

Though the flag is always there for reflection – and as a reminder of what was lost that day – it hasn’t been used for the in 10 years.

Now, in honor of the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, the Pledge of Allegiance will be recited to the 9/11 flag at every municipal meeting in September.

“It was a national event that everybody was affected by — even Oakland Township, a little removed from the center of the tragedy — and the flag emphasizes the unity we felt at the time,” Saputo said.

“It was the flag for us on that day, and we expect that flag to be preserved by our township into the future as a symbol of our representation.”

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