Patriotic Project Seeks 75 Flags for 75 Years in Village Days Parade

If all goes according to plan, 75 Boy Scouts and other volunteers will march in the 2013 Village Days Parade — hoisting 75 different flags to commemorate our nation's history and Greendale's anniversary.

The project is spearheaded by Greendale resident and Troop 506 Scoutmaster Tim Seipel, who has been collecting historic military flags for his scouts to carry in Greendale parades for nearly 15 years. As the collection of flags has since grown to nearly match Greendale's milestone age, Seipel began to organize this commemorative plan for the Aug. 11 Village Days Parade.

But Seipel still needs more volunteers to carry flags in the parade, one of the culminating events in Greendale's massive 75th anniversary celebration. Anyone interested in helping out can email him at tseips@ameritech.net.

Seipel said the collection began in 1999 as a way to get scouts more excited about participating in the parade. Each flag has a unique story or significance, something he says piqued scouts' interest.

"They're actually interested in the history," Seipel said. "It's not so much about whether there was a bloody battle involved."

The collection includes some historical variations of the American flag, but most have a military significance — such as the flag of Theodore Roosevelt's First Volunteer Cavalry, or the "Rough Riders."

Others have been very well-traveled. For instance, Seipel personally hoisted the Star Spangled Banner over Fort McHenry in 2005, and their Fort Sumter flag flew at Fort Sumter last year.

Related: 75th Anniversary Celebration, Village Days Schedule

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