Valley Forge Flag, based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania,[1] is one of the largest U.S. flag manufacturers. The company was founded in 1882.[2] It has a large wet printing facility in Olanta, South Carolina.[3]
 | |
| Founded | 1882 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, United States |
Key people | Debra Liberman Bergman (President) Tom Fellner (Chief financial officer) |
| Products | American-made state and federal flags Flag hardware and accessories Patriotic decor |
| Website | www.valleyforgeflag.com |
History
editDuring the 1930s, Valley Forge Flag was listed on multiple city, county and school district budget reports as a supplier of American flags for daily and ceremonial occasions, including daily flag raisings at public schools and local, state and federal government agencies across the United States and for decorating graves at community cemeteries on Memorial Day.[4][5][6][7][8] On July 1, 1937, the publisher of The Record-American newspaper in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania announced that it was selling five-by-three-foot and six-by-four-foot American flags and "flag sets, priced reasonably" that included flag poles and were manufactured by the Valley Forge Flag Company to encourage area residents to decorate their homes and businesses "with patriotic symbols" for the Independence Day holiday weekend.[9]
During the first eight months of 1941, as America was continuing to mobilize its military forces for large-scale entry into World War II, the United States Department of War awarded contracts worth $35,410 and $8,596 in January and August 1941, respectively, to Valley Forge Flag for "range flags" and "scarlet streamers."[10][11] The demand for American flags subsequently increased, following the Attack on Pearl Harbor by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service on December 7, 1941.[12]
Following the war, the company continued to sell its flags to civic groups, government agencies and public schools nationwide.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Demand for American flags continued to be strong, periodically outpacing production well into the mid-1950s.[20]
By 1958, the company had become one of the largest manufacturers of state and federal government flags in America. Still busy manufacturing the forty-eight-star flag of the United States that year, company personnel were not yet prepared for the production changes that would occur when the federal government approved the addition of two new stars to the flag, following the admission of Alaska and Hawaii into statehood on January 3 and August 21, 1959, respectively.[21][22][23][24] In March 1959, forty-five and seventy-five workers were furloughed, respectively, at the company's plants in Robesonia and Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania during the transition that occurred between the time that the forty-ninth star was added for Alaska and the time the fiftieth star was added for Hawaii.[25][26]
In December 1963, newspapers reported that female employees of the Valley Forge Flag Company's Womelsdorf plant may have been the workers who sewed the American flag that draped the casket of U.S President John F. Kennedy, following his assassination on November 22. Lieutenant Samuel R. Bird, commander of the honor guard from Fort Myer, Virginia that was involved in the planning and implementation of the president's state funeral, confirmed that one of the company's flags had covered Kennedy's coffin.[27] Those reports have since been confirmed by historians and curators at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, which has preserved the flag in its collection.[28]
By the time that the company's president, Sidney Liberman, died in 1967, the company had expanded to include operations in Baumstown, Birdsboro, Robesonia, Royersford, Spring City, and Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania. He was survived by his brothers Abraham Liberman, who was serving as the company's secretary-treasurer, and George Liberman, who had previously served as an officer of the company. All of the company's plants were closed for the day on March 20 of that year, in recognition of the memorial services that were being held for Sidney Liberman.[29]
Present day
editIn June 2015, following the events of the Charleston church shooting, Valley Forge Flag announced that they would cease to sell Confederate flags.[30][31][32]
During 2020, flag production was initially slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic; however, company officials announced in June of that year that state governors had allowed flag manufacturing plants to reopen.[33]
References
edit- ^ "FMAA Member List". Flag Manufacturers Association of America. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
- ^ Edward McAllister (June 24, 2015). "Sadness and pride at Valley Forge Flag factory in South Carolina". Philly Voice.
- ^ "Divisions & Services". Valley Forge Flag. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
- ^ "$3,300 School Contracts Let: Coal and Other Supplies Ordered." Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Lancaster New Era, May 26, 1934, p. 5 (subscription required).
- ^ "The Borderland." Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Lancaster Daily Intelligencer Journal, March 22, 1935, p. 3 (subscription required).
- ^ "Valley Forge Flag Company Bid Accepted." Pottstown, Pennsylvania: The Mercury, March 22, 1935, p. 6 (subscription required).
- ^ "Official Proceedings of the City Commission." Wakefield, Michigan: The Wakefield News, November 4, 1938, p. 4 (subscription required).
- ^ "Polling Place Changes Asked: Bids for Election and County Supplies Opened by Commissioners." Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: The Times Leader, March 25, 1936, p. 10 (subscription required).
- ^ "Flags for Sale!" Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania: The Record-American, July 1, 1937, p. 4 (subscription required).
- ^ "Spring City Firm Gets War Contract." Pottstown, Pennsylvania: The Mercury, January 10, 1941, p. 6 (subscription required).
- ^ "S.C. Firm Gets U.S. Order." Pottstown, Pennsylvania: The Mercury, August 28, 1941, p. 8 (subscription required).
- ^ "Buyers Besiege Makers of Flags: Civilian and Government Demands 'Terrific' Since Pearl Harbor." Camden, New Jersey: Courier-Post, August 13, 1942, p. 16 (subscription required).
- ^ "Official Proceedings of the City Council." Wakefield, Michigan: The Wakefield News, July 14, 1950, p. 5 (subscription required).
- ^ "Regular School Board Meeting, Monday, 4th." Burwell, Nebraska: The Burwell (Nebr.) Tribune, December 7, 1950, p. 3 (subscription required).
- ^ "Contract for Grave Markers." Hazleton, Pennsylvania: The Plain Speaker, February 27, 1953, p. 19 (subscription required).
- ^ "Board of Education." Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, February 22, 1954, p. (subscription required).
- ^ "Annual Financial Report: Millard County School District." Delta, Utah: Millard County Chronicle, August 5, 1954, p. 6 (subscription required).
- ^ "Flags Placed in Courtrooms Here." Odessa, Texas: The Odessa American, August 5, 1954, p. 15 (subscription required).
- ^ "Jaycees to Resume Flag Selling Campaign." Eureka, Illinois: The Woodford County Journal, July 7, 1955, p. 1 (subscription required).
- ^ "Dearth of Flags Make Weak Wave." St. Cloud Minnesota: The St. Cloud Daily Times, front page (subscription required).
- ^ "Man About Town." Wilmington, Delaware: The News Journal, July 23, 1958, p. B20 (subscription required).
- ^ Ferris, William. "Flag Makers Stand Ready to Put Out New Flag for Public as Soon as Design Is Announced." Richmond, Indiana: The Palladium-Item and Sun-Telegram, January 1, 1959, p. 12 (subscription required).
- ^ "Nation Gets New State, New Flag Saturday." Baltimore, Maryland: The Evening Sun, December 31, 1958, p. 4 (subscription required).
- ^ Thomas, A. Russell. "Problem of the New Flag." Doylestown, Pennsylvania: The Daily Intelligencer, March 19, 1959, p. 4 (subscription required).
- ^ "Hawaiian Statehood Idles 120 Flag Workers." Shamokin, Pennsylvania: Shamokin News-Dispatch, March 16, 1959, p. 9 (subscription required).
- ^ "Sad Aloha: 120 Flag Makers Laid Off in Reading Area." York, Pennsylvania: The York Dispatch, March 14, 1959, front page (subscription required).
- ^ "Co. Women May Have Made JFK Casket Flag." Lebanon, Pennsylvania: Lebanon Daily News, December 6, 1963, p. 24 (subscription required).
- ^ "United States flag that covered President Kennedy's casket, MO 63.1989: Valley Forge Flag Company" (photo of flag with collections accessioning data). Boston, Massachusetts: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, retrieved online July 2, 1964.
- ^ "Flag Company president dies." Pottstown, Pennsylvania: The Mercury, March 20, 1967, p. 20 (subscription required).
- ^ "Google Is Pulling Confederate Flag From Google Shopping And Ads". Huffington Post. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
- ^ Edward McAllister (June 24, 2015). "At rural South Carolina flag factory, sadness and pride". Yahoo! News.
- ^ Katy Osborn (June 23, 2015). "Prominent Flag Manufacturer Will Stop Producing Confederate Flags". TIME.
- ^ "U.S. Flag Manufacturers Spread Patriotism During COVID-19." Wayne, Pennsylvania: Flag Manufacturers Association of America, June 2020 (retrieved online July 2, 2023).