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Photographed by Susana Raab
1. As folk art
Photographer Susana Raab was heading down Highway 61 near Greenville, Mississippi, when she glimpsed an arresting image of the Stars and Stripes in a lonely field. "I was struck by the idea that someone would go to the trouble to construct this flag out of plastic Dixie cups, and here it was in Dixieland," says Raab. Anonymous art, created from the stuff at hand, is plentiful in the Deep South, says Lee Kogan, curator of the American Folk Art Museum. And unlike in many other parts of the country, the volume is undiminished. "People held on to those traditions longer," Kogan says. And, apparently, to their Dixie cups.
Photographer Susana Raab was heading down Highway 61 near Greenville, Mississippi, when she glimpsed an arresting image of the Stars and Stripes in a lonely field. "I was struck by the idea that someone would go to the trouble to construct this flag out of plastic Dixie cups, and here it was in Dixieland," says Raab. Anonymous art, created from the stuff at hand, is plentiful in the Deep South, says Lee Kogan, curator of the American Folk Art Museum. And unlike in many other parts of the country, the volume is undiminished. "People held on to those traditions longer," Kogan says. And, apparently, to their Dixie cups.
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Courtesy of National Museum of American History
2. As a piece of history
After its celebrated appearance at Fort McHenry, the very star-spangled banner that inspired our national anthem arrived at the Smithsonian in 1907, proudly hailed but battered too: It had passed through generations of a military officer's family, who had made a tradition of parceling out snippets as souvenirs. "The idea of desecrating the flag is a fairly modern one," says Smithsonian conservator Suzanne Thomassen-Krauss. For a major mending in 1914, the museum hired embroiderer Amelia Fowler, shown here overseeing a few of the 1.7 million stitches that would secure a new linen backing. Fowler earned $1,243—a small sum compared with the $7 million it cost to get the flag restored for the reopening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History last year.
After its celebrated appearance at Fort McHenry, the very star-spangled banner that inspired our national anthem arrived at the Smithsonian in 1907, proudly hailed but battered too: It had passed through generations of a military officer's family, who had made a tradition of parceling out snippets as souvenirs. "The idea of desecrating the flag is a fairly modern one," says Smithsonian conservator Suzanne Thomassen-Krauss. For a major mending in 1914, the museum hired embroiderer Amelia Fowler, shown here overseeing a few of the 1.7 million stitches that would secure a new linen backing. Fowler earned $1,243—a small sum compared with the $7 million it cost to get the flag restored for the reopening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History last year.
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Joe Raedle/Getty Images
3. As a final honor
When Charles Buford started VetsUnited.org last year, his plan was to assist military veterans with housing referrals and food drives—not flags to drape over their coffins. But when he heard that two of the nearly 250 homeless vets in Miami-Dade County had been murdered last winter, and that others were lying unclaimed at the morgue, his group stepped up to organize a joint military funeral. It was held last January 24 in Miami with honor guards providing the ceremonial flag folding over four otherwise forgotten men. "We will leave no soldier behind," says Buford, "no matter what the battlefield."
When Charles Buford started VetsUnited.org last year, his plan was to assist military veterans with housing referrals and food drives—not flags to drape over their coffins. But when he heard that two of the nearly 250 homeless vets in Miami-Dade County had been murdered last winter, and that others were lying unclaimed at the morgue, his group stepped up to organize a joint military funeral. It was held last January 24 in Miami with honor guards providing the ceremonial flag folding over four otherwise forgotten men. "We will leave no soldier behind," says Buford, "no matter what the battlefield."
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Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation
4. As a family tree
Designed to honor our history as a nation of immigrants, a permanent exhibit planned for Ellis Island will use family snapshots in a digital flag, says Stephen Briganti, president of the Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation. The image, which will be regularly updated electronically, is designed to "show the different faces of America, whether they arrived on the Mayflower or got off a plane yesterday." If you want your loved one represented, send in that photo of Great-Aunt Sally along with a $50 donation, which will go toward funding the Peopling of America Center. (See flagoffaces.org for details.)
Designed to honor our history as a nation of immigrants, a permanent exhibit planned for Ellis Island will use family snapshots in a digital flag, says Stephen Briganti, president of the Statue of Liberty–Ellis Island Foundation. The image, which will be regularly updated electronically, is designed to "show the different faces of America, whether they arrived on the Mayflower or got off a plane yesterday." If you want your loved one represented, send in that photo of Great-Aunt Sally along with a $50 donation, which will go toward funding the Peopling of America Center. (See flagoffaces.org for details.)
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