Jack Schott celebrates his 81st birthday Friday, July 2, and he has a pretty good idea what his family will give him. If you’re a flag collector with 75 flags, and a neatly marked wish list in a CRW Flags catalogue, what else could it be.
“My collection will go up to 77 or 78,” Mr. Schott said.
Mr. Schott flies a new flag every morning on the pole in front of his East Chop home. He travels the summer in historical order, starting with the flag of the Wampanoag people and ending with the current 50-star banner. In between, he displays a myriad of standards from American history, with particular emphasis on the diverse assortment from the Revolutionary War. On the Fourth of July, as per tradition, he will fly the Betsy Ross flag.
He said he has always been interested in flags, but became a true aficionado when years ago he saw a mysterious flag — red and white stripes with a Union Jack in the canton corner — flying above a house in Cambridge. Intrigued, he began to investigate.
“When I started to research, it got really interesting, because it turned out not to be a British flag but an American flag, and in a way the first American flag,” he said.
Mr. Schott explained that the flag, referred to as the Continental, was used by American forces fighting the British during the Battle of Boston.
Decades after this encounter, it seems unlikely that Mr. Schott would ever fail to recognize any flag from American history. Now, he serves as an unofficial neighborhood flag historian, sharing the symbolism and legacy behind each flapping banner with passersby who stop by his porch and ask about whatever he has hoisted that day.
Last Saturday, so many people inquired about the Guilford Courthouse flag that his grandson took on the role of docent.
“When the fifth or sixth person who went by said, ‘Gee, what’s that flag?’ the two-and-a-half- year-old said, ‘Well, that’s the Guilford flag. That’s from North Carolina,’” Mr. Schott recalled with a laugh.
He said that his favorite porch encounter involved a history teacher at the regional high school.
“[The teacher] said, ‘I’m going to give an assignment to my students to come by every morning and see what the flag is. They will have to identify it and say what is the significance?’”
Mr. Schott is a member of North American Vexillological Association (NAVA), which according to their website is the “world’s largest organization of flag enthusiasts and scholars.” In his own words, vexillology means “the study of and love of flags.” He said that, according to NAVA, a great flag should have no more than three colors and a first grader should be able to draw it.
His membership in the association led him to serving on the flag redesign committee for Orlando, Fla., where he spends his winters.
Looking over all of the flags in his collection, Mr. Schott said picking a single favorite is too difficult. He named the Betsy Ross, 48 star, Lincoln Mourning, Continental, American Revolution join or die flags, Choctaw Native American, three Black American military flags as his most cherished.
American flags make up the bulk of the collection but he also has a mix of international and custom-made ones. He acquired the flags of Switzerland, Belgium, France, Norway and Tibet after international visitors stayed at his home and sent along their own national flags as thanks.
On June 4, his wedding anniversary, he flies his wedding anniversary flag. On his birthday, he flies his birthday flag, a banner emblazoned with the image of his three daughters and “Happy 70th birthday” that he received 10 years ago from, unsurprisingly, his three daughters.
In addition to enjoying studying flags and the history they represent, Mr. Schott said there is another plus side to his passion.
“It’s an inexpensive hobby,” he said, noting that 75 flags over 20 years does not rack up the bill many initially expect.
For the Fourth of July, or any day for that matter, his only real worry is the weather.
“The only thing that frustrates me is some days you have no wind,” he said.
Comments (2)
Comments
Comment policy »