From baseball games to symphonic concerts, everyone in the U.S. has heard someone sing or play the National Anthem to honor the American flag. Very few, however, have seen “The Star-Spangled Banner” in pantomime. But a book exists that could change that. At one time, it was a bible for acting out Francis Scott Key’s… continue
The most famous three-part name linked to “The Star-Spangled Banner” is, of course, Francis Scott Key. In this bicentennial year of the composition of his ode to the American flag, it’s good to recall another name: Elsie Jorss Reilley, whose musical talent helped the poem become the National Anthem. From 1814 until 1931, when Congress… continue
September 14 celebrates the bicentennial of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The creation of the poem about the American flag involved coincidences, luck and deliberate decisions. A few days before he watched “the rockets’ red glare and bombs bursting in air,” Francis Scott Key had no idea he would witness the 1814 bombardment of Fort McHenry in… continue
Ed Shevlin recently retired from the New York City Sanitation Department, but not from rescuing American flags tossed in the trash. “I noticed years ago a fairly high increase of U.S. flags in the garbage,” he said in an interview. “It really bothered me, so I began a campaign to save Old Glory. I’ve been… continue
Sometimes, history repeats itself in perfect intervals. For example, 2014 continues the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, marks the centenary of the First World War and begins the observance of the 75th anniversary of World War II, which broke out in 1939. Over that span, American flags were draped over the coffins of tens… continue