Joseph Hart

A 1970 article told of Joseph Hart of the Allentown Elks, who organized a 1906 Flag Day ceremony in that city's park.A year later, Hart formed the Allentown Flag Day Association.

But few know of it today, or realize that without the concern of some Allentown residents, particularly a man named Joe Hart, this holiday might never have come to be.

Hart was a native of Jackson, Mich., who first came to Allentown in 1890.He was a stage and theater manager, a job that took him around the world and acquainted him with some very influential people, including William Cody (aka Buffalo Bill of the famous Wild West Show) and Sir Thomas Lipton, the millionaire tea planter and yachtsman.

In 1895, Hart returned to Allentown, his traveling days over.He got a job as a salesman at Aschbach's Music Store and joined just about every fraternal order that would have him.He was among the most prominent members of the Elks in Pennsylvania.

Hart became interested in promoting Flag Day in 1905.He worked with Cmdr.Abandon S. Moyer, head of Yeager Post 13 of the Grand Army of the Republic, a national Civil War veterans association, to plan the event.

That June 14, they gathered in the Lehigh County Courthouse.In the crowd was Gen.
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Hart was so moved by the event that he collected money from those present and started planning the 1906 event.He convinced Trexler to let them use Central Park, the large amusement park on the border of Allentown and Bethlehem.

In 1907, Hart formed the Allentown Flag Day Association.He also attended the Elks Convention in Atlantic City, N.J., pushing through a resolution, noted The Morning Call, "which made it obligatory for all Elks Lodges in the U.S. and possessions to annually observe Flag Day."

For sheer spectacle, nothing could quite equal Allentown's Flag Day of 1922.

In 1916, after seeing the name of an obscure Army officer, John J. "Black Jack" Pershing who was fighting "bandits" in Mexico, Hart sent an application form for the Flag Day Association to Pershing, who promptly returned it with his dues.
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Hart lived until 1932 and was a major force, according to his obituary, in "The Star-Spangled Banner" becoming the national anthem by an act of Congress in 1931.

Since Hart's passing, Allentown's Flag Day celebrations have waxed and waned with the national mood.As a new generation finds meaning in Old Glory, what better way to celebrate than Flag Day in Allentown?

frank.whelan@mcall.com

610-820-6751