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July 4 flag tradition continues for realtors
Ever wonder how those rows of small American flags seem to magically appear overnight around Greencastle neighborhoods and subdivisions at the Fourth of July each year?
Well, there’s no magic formula, just long hours, lots of shoe leather and elbow grease.
And the staff at Carpenter Realtors wouldn’t have it any other way. After all, it’s a Fourth of July tradition. They have been putting out thousands of flags around Greencastle for more than 25 years.
“We’ve done as many as 7,000 in the past when we had more agents,” Connie Cooper said, recounting how one former agent would even tackle the perilous task of putting the flags out along U.S. 231, all the way from U.S. 36 to Greencastle.
This year six agents -- Connie Cooper, Clint Cooper, Mike Dean, Sahara Noll, My Gilley and Lindsey Fenwick and assorted family members -- will be putting out 4,000 flags early Sunday morning.
“We try to do where there are sidewalks,” Cooper continued.
Because of the way the Independence Day holiday falls on a Wednesday this year, the Carpenter crew decided to put the flags out on Sunday, starting the three- to four-hour effort about 5 a.m.
“My goal,” longtime realtor Mike Dean said, “is to go through the McDonald’s drive-through window by 9 a.m. when I’m done.”
While Dean adds that the project “is a lot of fun,” he likewise knows it’s a lot of work.
“It took me three days of two or three hours a day just to staple my card (to the wooden rod that holds up the flag),” he said, adding that the effort involves a lot of walking as well.
”My phone keeps track of how far I walk,” Dean noted, “and last year it was right at 5.2 miles.”
That’s more than a 5K to start the day.
And like the postman, neither rain nor heat nor cold can keep them from their appointed rounds.
“Two years ago it rained real hard,” Cooper recalled, remembering that the storm drenched the flags and left their business cards floating in the gutters some places.
“I might put some of my flags out Saturday night to avoid the heat,” she suggested.
To distribute the flags, the Carpenter agents resort to a variety of vehicles.
“I’m pushing mine in a stroller,” Cooper said, noting that others have used shopping carts, golf carts and even four-wheelers to get the job done.
With it being for a good cause and in the wee small hours of the morning, police heretofore have refrained from questioning some of that vehicle use.
Overall, it’s a nice touch for the holiday that the realtors look forward to doing and the public seems to enjoy.
“We get a lot of nice cards from people,” Cooper acknowledged. “We get a lot of nice comments. It’s really something people have appreciated over the years.”
And occasionally they get a flag or two back each year from people who think they need to be returned to the realtors.
“They’re compliments of Carpenter Realtors,” Dean said, “for you to keep.”