How did this project come to be?
Pastor Craig mentioned that they were collecting flags from people in the congregation from different countries of origin to display in the church. I thought that was cool, but I thought, "Gee whiz, we're coming up on the 250th anniversary of April 19, 1775, and I have in my possession flags that were flown during the American Revolutionary War." And I asked if I could display those on the 4th of July.
What kind of help and resources did you use to get the display built?
I got help from other volunteers in the Appleseed Forum, including some people who have made other flag displays in the past. That was super helpful because I got ideas to help make my plan. I also made sure that it was OK to print and display the copyrighted information about the flags from Project Appleseed materials.
How difficult was the actual building?
I spent about a day and a half on it. But a lot of that was head scratching and then trying to figure out how to put a display together that was both portable and usable. I came up with 3/8 inch PVC. It's a height of 5 feet, which is perfect, then a 45-degree elbow, then another 3 feet to hang the flag on it.
What has the reception been like at your church?
It’s been phenomenal! Pastor Craig was thrilled that it went up, and it generated a whole lot of questions. Kids would go up and look at it. Adults would go up and look at it and then read the information that was displayed. And when I was picking it up at church they said, "Could you do this again next year because it's the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence?"
So what's next?
I offered to the church, Christ the King, that I would be happy to talk to their youth group or other groups about the dates of the Revolutionary War that we discuss. The time blocks of our Three Strikes are just right for that.
Second, because this display is quite portable we could throw it up easily at other events, such as our Prepper Camp booth coming up in Saluda, North Carolina, in September. And third, I can use the flags and display any time at Appleseed clinics or boot camps.
Did you have fun?
Yeah, it was a ball! It was in the garage, and people around here came over and looked at it. It felt good having people thank us for putting it up. It was also fun to see the feedback on the forum. I'd love to put brochures out and say, "Come to Charlotte where Neil runs great programs and shoot rifles." But I'm not sure that works at church!
The marksmanship is a means to an end--it attracts people to hear this message. So we started with the end!
