[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 81 (Thursday, June 23, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 23, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
    TONY WALKUP AWARDED THIRD PLACE IN SCHOOL-DAR FLAG ESSAY CONTEST

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                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 23, 1994

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, for more than 20 years, Nancy Vonic, 
English teacher at Oliver Winch Junior High School in South Glens 
Falls, NY, and with the help of the Jane McCrea Chapter of the 
Daughters of the American Revolution, has assigned her seventh-graders 
to write essays about the American flag.
  I am proud to place the winning essays in today's Record, including 
the third-place essay of Tony Walkup, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Walkup 
of 3 Moreau Drive, South Glens Falls. Congratulations go out to Tony, 
and our grateful appreciation to Nancy Vonic and the Jane McCrea 
Chapter of the DAR.

                     Third Place--The American Flag

                            (By Tony Walkup)

       The American flag is one of a kind. Continental Congress 
     decided there should be an emblem to represent the U.S. on 
     June 14, 1777. They sent out Gen. George Washington with the 
     designs of the first American flag. Washington picked 
     Elizabeth Betsy Ross to make the first ever flag. The first 
     flag consisted of 13 stripes and 13 stars. It had seven red 
     stripes and six white stripes alternating. These 13 stripes 
     were symbols of the 13 original colonies. The stars were 
     arranged in a circle or 12 stars forming a circle surrounding 
     one in a blue field. The Continental Congress never really 
     indicated how the stars would be arranged.
       Every time a state joined the Union, the Continental 
     Congress added a star and a stripe, but they realized it 
     would soon become too complex.
       The colors of the American flag have special meanings. 
     White stands for purity and innocence, red stands for 
     hardiness and vigor, and blue stands for vigilance, 
     perseverance, and justice.
       The Pledge was written by Francis Bellamy and first used on 
     Oct. 12, 1892, at a festival in Chicago. On June 14, 1954, 
     President Eisenhower signed a law which added the words 
     ``under God'' to the Pledge. The Pledge is merely a salute to 
     the flag to show your patriotism and to show that you care 
     for your country.
       To me, the flag stands for liberty, independence, and all 
     the rights granted to me. America gained its independence 
     from the British in 1783 after the Revolutionary War. Proudly 
     let it wave!!!

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