WOOSTER, Ohio — The City will soon be home to one of Ohio’s largest American flags yet.
Once raised up the 140-foot pole, it will fly for all drivers to see on Route 30 or anyone visiting the city.
A massive 30-foot by 60-foot flag will be raised on Sept. 11 at the Wayne County Fair during the usual flag-raising ceremony at 9 a.m.
It will honor the women and men who fought for the United States, those who died on 9/11 and will celebrate the Wooster Rotary Club’s 100-year anniversary.
Compared to a football field, the flag is 10 yards by 20 yards large.
But with budgetary concerns and timeframe questions, Justin Starlin said this flag was nearly delayed.
“Timeframe-wise we had to get it in place with the fair and there was the question of visibility, so where would we put it,” said Starlin, Wooster Rotary’s previous president. “We wanted people on Route 30 to see it while also being a focal point of the fair.”
Route 30 averages at around 28,000 daily vehicles, so on a daily basis thousands could view the flag, he said.
But before a location was chosen, each possible site required a soil composition test.
“We coordinated with the fair board to decide on the location because we had to make sure the soil could handle not only the pole but that large of a flag,” Starlin said.
Once tested, the rotary club and the fair board decided to install the flag pole in front of the Wayne County Event Center.
Next, the club needed to hire a company to install it all. After weeks of back and forth discussions, Starlin received the green light.
“The company told us that they would agree to put it up right before the fair began,” he said.
Now, nearly one year after the planning process began and $60,000 of rotary money to install the pole, the flag is set to fly above Wayne County’s largest city.
While the $60,000 flag pole was funded entirely by the Wooster Rotary Club, Starlin and his rotary colleagues are asking the community to fund the flag and pole maintenance costs.
“We’ve asked businesses and individuals to contribute to a tax-exempt endowment fund,” Starlin said.
So far local businesses and some individuals have donated in-kind, but more money is needed to ensure flags can be replaced and the pole stays in working condition.
“We don’t want to fly a flag that’s in poor condition,” Starlin said. “We want it to represent Wooster and Wayne County.”
Anyone who wants to contribute can donate to the Wooster Community Flag Project by contacting Starlin on the Wooster Rotary Club website.
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