As the 100-year anniversary of the U.S. involvement in World War I nears, some Relay residents have banded together to restore the community's old service banner.
The goal is to restore the flag to its original condition in time for the 2017 anniversary. The task, said Relay resident Ray Chism, who has organized the project, has been far from easy.
Almost a century ago, banners honoring servicemen fighting overseas were commonplace all over the country, according to the American Legion, which today distributes Blue Star Service Banners to families of military personnel around the United States.
The banner concept was developed during the First World War by Army Capt. Robert Queissner in 1917, according to legion literature, as a way to honor the service of his two sons. Both men were serving on the front lines of World War I at the time, the legion says.
In World War II, the banners' popularity grew to such a level that the Department of War issued regulations for the manufacture and display of the banners, along with a similar lapel button, according to the legion, but they fell out of fashion during the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Relay's World War I banner, which includes stars for troops from Relay, St. Denis and Avalon, was found about 15 year ago, stowed away in a closet, said Richard Gloth, vice president of the Relay Improvement Association.
He was cleaning out the town hall as part of the renovation of the old building when he found it under the stairs, he said. Surprised to find such an important part of the town's history, and afraid it would be forgotten and get damaged sitting in the closet, Gloth said he decided to display it on the wall of the building where it has remained for more than 15 years.
"It's pretty neat," he said, adding that the display even included a card that indicated that the display was framed by a Mrs. Golder Shumate, chair of the Soldier's Memorial Committee for the three towns of Relay, St. Denis and Avalon.
Today's guidelines specify that the Blue Star Service Banner may vary in size, but must always be in proportion to the U.S. flag. Stars are displayed in a white rectangular field surrounded by a red border, and each star represents an active duty soldier. If a service member represented on the flag dies while serving, a gold star is placed on top of the soldier's pre-existing star, according to military rules.
The large Relay banner, which was sewn before the stricter guidelines were announced, hosts 49 stars for all of the men from the region who served in the war. Three of those stars are covered in gold.
"It's unusual, because we have the names of every person, every star that's on that banner," Chism said.
In fact, he added, all the names are on a bronze plaque currently situated on the Relay Children's Center building, on South Rolling Road.
The plan, Chism said, is to reunite the flag and the plaque at the town hall when the flag repairs are finished.
That time won't come for at least another eight to 10 months, he said.
Recently, it had become clear that the banner was in bad shape, he said. Parts of it were dirty and other parts were riddled with holes, he said, and there was concern that the fabric was beginning to deteriorate.
In an effort to preserve the flag, Chism, who leads history talks focusing on Relay's past, launched a fundraising campaign, both in the community and online, to collect the thousands of dollars needed to repair the damaged parts of the banner and build a new, protective encasement.
Donors from all walks of life came forward with donations ranging everywhere from $5 to $500, he said.
It is now being worked on by a fabric restorer who has experience working with the Smithsonian Institution, Chism said. When the banner is returned to Relay, the project will have cost more than $4,000, but Chism said the cost of preserving a little bit of the town's history is will worth it.
"The people of Relay think it's really important," he said.
When it comes to preserving history, he added, "For a little, tiny place, we do pretty good."