In the annals of American history, Bernard J. Cigrand is a virtually unknown figure. But with June 14 being Flag Day, it's an appropriate time to give Cigrand some "props."
After all, he is father of Flag Day. As an elementary school teacher at Stony Hill School in Waubeka, WI (some 30 miles north of Milwaukee), Cigrand staged what's considered the first observance of Flag Day in 1885.
Cigrand thought June 14 would be the perfect day to honor the flag, because it was on that day in 1777 that the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes.
Cigrand's quest didn't end in Waubeka. He spoke around the country in support of the holiday, eventually moving to a bigger stage, Chicago, to attend dental school. It was there that that Cigrand made a public proposal for a Flag Day, which was picked up by local magazines and newspapers. Cigrand was managing editor of a magazine called American Standard, created to promote patriotism.
Further getting the Flag Day train rolling was a series of public school children's celebrations in Chicago in 1894. More than 300,000 kids took part. Another important development in Flag Day took place in 1889 in New York City, when teacher George Balch staged a ceremony for students at his school.
The idea of observing Flag Day was adopted by the State Board of Education of New York a few years later. It was decreed in New York that all state buildings be adorned with the flag on June 14 in 1894.
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