SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ — With Flag Day approaching and the nation's 250th anniversary underway, Scotch Plains Councilman Roc White is calling on residents to display the American flag on June 14 and reflect on what it represents — and to turn out for two days of community celebrations later in the month.
"In a year as significant as 2026, when our nation marks its 250th anniversary, Flag Day carries a weight and meaning that feels especially profound," White said in a message to constituents this week.
White, a Gulf War veteran and U.S. Marine, said the flag represents a promise made 250 years ago and renewed by every generation since. "The flag belongs to all of them. It belongs to all of us," he said.
He also used the occasion to underscore civic responsibility. "Democracy is not a spectator sport," White said. "It requires participation — in our local elections, in our town hall meetings, in the conversations we have with our neighbors."
Scotch Plains will mark America's 250th with two days of events on June 26 and 27.
On Friday, June 26 — the anniversary of the 1777 Battle of Short Hills, fought in Scotch Plains — a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at 4:30 p.m. at Scotch Plains Baptist Church, 333 Park Ave., honoring Revolutionary War patriots interred there, with members of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution in attendance. A parade led by a professional George Washington reenactor on horseback will then proceed down Park Avenue to Town Hall, where a time capsule buried on Oct. 14, 1984 — during the township's 300th anniversary celebration and sealed with instructions to open it in 2026 — will be opened.
Festivities continue from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the Alan M. Augustine Village Green, with food donated by the historic Stage House Tavern, live music by the Nettingham Middle School Jazz Ensemble and exhibits from local historical organizations including the Frazee House, Preserve Shady Rest and the Scotch Plains and Fanwood Historical Society.
On Saturday, June 27, the celebration moves to Shady Rest Country Club, 820 Jerusalem Rd. — a building that predates the American Revolution — for live music and the township's annual fireworks display.
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