By Kristina Hernandez
The Redlands Daily Facts
REDLANDS, Calif. — Fred Ford wiped tears from his face Friday morning as he watched members of the Redlands Fire Department raise the American Flag at the Brookside Post Office.
It had been several weeks since he noticed the site’s flag had been waving at half-staff for months, so he went inside the facility to find out what was going on.
As he spoke with Kathleen Feliciano, a lead clerk for the United States Postal Service, Ford learned there was an issue with the flag pole. That’s when he, other community members and the fire department stepped in to help.
At 10 a.m. on the dot, firefighters from fire station No. 1 arrived at the post office and began working to untangle the mechanism holding the flag in place.
Within minutes, the job was done.
“The flag had been stuck (at half-staff) because the halyard was twisted and it got tangled up,” said Fire Cpt. Bill Conway. “We didn’t exactly know what (the problem) was or how complicated it was going to be. Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult and we were able to get it resolved pretty quickly. And this was just another way for us to serve the community.”
Friday’s repair came days before Flag Day, which is Tuesday and recognized every June 14. The national observance marks the adoption of the American Flag by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777.
With a new flag flying high at the post office, Ford could not help but let his emotions be known.
“This is my hometown,” he said. “This is a historical site. ... And is a feature of our downtown business community. The downtown business community represents a lot of small businesses, it’s very community, localized, and the things we can do to keep it up, it’s all worth it.”
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(c)2016 the Redlands Daily Facts (Redlands, Calif.)