The Saratoga-Wilton Elks Lodge 161 will
hold its 47th annual Flag Day Parade on
Saturday, June 13, as well as conduct a Flag
Day celebration at noon Sunday, June 14, at
the lodge.
The parade will honor all Vietnam Era
Veterans. Veterans wishing to march in the
parade should arrive at North Broadway and
East Ave 11-11:30 a.m. Saturday. The parade
begins at noon and extends from North Broadway
to Congress Park.
The lodge ceremony Sunday–at 1 Elks
Lane, Saratoga Springs, off Maple Avenue–
will be held outside at the group’s flag pole,
followed at 1 p.m. by a picnic to honor local
veterans. At that event, grants will be presented
to the men’s home and the guardian
house.
Each Elks Lodge is required to conduct a
service annually on June l4, the anniversary
of the birth of the American Flag.
The organization said the idea of a Flag
Day Service was first suggested to the Elks
by the then grand exalted ruler at the 1907
Grand Lodge Session in Philadelphia. The
1911 Grand Lodge Session at Atlantic City
made the observance of Flag Day mandatory
for subordinate lodges.
It was not until Aug. 3, 1949, the United
States designated June 14 as Flag Day.
For more information call 584-2585. The
local Elks website is www.saratogawiltonelks161.org.