SANFORD — Flag Day is celebrated June 14 in ceremonies across the country and in Sanford, the Sanford Elks Lodge #1470 honored Flag Day with an event on Saturday morning at Central Park, where the weekly Farmers’ Market was in full swing.

Chaplain Shawn Hubbard gave a prayer asking for a blessing of the flag and all it represents.

“And through all our history as a nation, it has been a sign of freedom, liberty and the opportunity and through the years to come, may this flag wave as the banner of liberty, freedom and enlightenment. May this service bring to each of us a sense of loyalty to our country and to enable us to be better patriots, truer citizens and more loyal Americans,” said Hubbard.

Past Exalted Ruler Shelly Goodwin said President Woodrow Wilson saw the American flag as an emblem of the unity, power, though and shape of the nation.

“Upon its folds is written the story of America, the epic of the mightiest and noblest in all history,” said Goodwin.

AMVETS Post #3, Girl Scout Troop #2085, Boy Scout Troop #327, American Legion Post #19-Junior Auxiliary and Knights of Columbus #13861 also participated in Saturday’s ceremony,

On June 14, 1777, Congress authorized the “stars and stripes” as the national symbol of the United States, according to the National Flag Day Foundation.

In 1885, 19-year-old teacher Bernard Cigron asked his students in a one-room school house in Wisconsin to write an essay on what the flag meant to them. Cigron dedicated his life to inspire others to celebrate what he called the flag’s birthday, and wrote several articles and essays, according to the National Flag Foundation.

In 1916, President Wilson issued a proclamation establishing Flag Day as an annual national event, and in 1949, President Harry Truman signed legislation to properly designate June 14 as National Flag day, according to the National Flag Day Foundation.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be reached at 780-9015 or by email at egotthelf@journaltribune.com.