Lowering the Flag in 1945
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — The Stephenville campus of Tarleton State University is constantly changing and visitors for this week’s Homecoming may notice a missing campus landmark.
The flagpole that’s graced the front lawn of the E. J. Howell Education Building for almost a century is gone and a new one is going up just a few feet away — off the loop on Military Drive between the historic canon and Alumni Island. After 100 years of faithful service, the beloved landmark rusted through at the base.
The new location provides a more prominent focal point for the flagpole and makes room for ceremonies like the monthly University Retreat Ceremony re-established by the Texan Corps of Cadets in 2017.
Financed by the Brotherhood of Buddies — a World War I veterans’ organization — the original flagpole was installed in 1920. The group sold nameplates to finance the $500 installation and staged a retreat parade on campus to dedicate it.
According to old issues of The J-TAC, the university’s student newspaper, the pole was a gift from Stephenville citizens and Tarleton students. It telescoped from 100 to 150 feet tall before being shortened for safety reasons.
Plaques from the original flagpole will move with the new one.
Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.
Contact: Phil Riddle, News and Information Specialist
817-484-4415
[email protected]
