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Old Glory on the River

Fort Dodge firefighters install new flag on the Bennett Pier

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Firefighter/paramedic Mychal Edler, left, and Lt. Jon Schreck, of the Fort Dodge Fire Department, work on raising Old Glory on the Bennett Pier along the Des Moines river Friday. The flag is replaced once or twice a year, according to Ron Newsum, the founder of the Old Glory on the River tradition. The flag was first raised on the pier on June 14, 2004.

A tattered American flag should never fly, said Ron Newsum, of Fort Dodge, an Iowa Air National Guard veteran and founder of the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight.

And Fort Dodge firefighters Lt. Jon Schreck, Mychal Edler and Devon Schuster weren’t going to let that happen any longer Friday morning at the Bennett Pier in the Des Moines River. The pier once was part of the Bennett Viaduct, which was torn down in 1981.

Conditions were favorable for replacing the flag. The climate was warm and the wind was minimal.

There was some delay in getting on the river, however, as the Fire Department stayed busy in the morning hours responding to multiple medical calls.

It’s about a half-hour commitment to change the flag.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Old Glory is set against a clear and bright blue sky Friday morning after Fort Dodge firefighters put up a new flag on the Bennett Pier along the Des Moines River. Calm winds kept the flag from unfurling, but also made it easier for firefighters to to do the job.

Eventually, they got their opening.

Sometime after 9 a.m., the three firefighters traveled with Old Glory in a Fort Dodge Fire Rescue boat to the pier. They entered the river from the dock at Sunkissed Meadows Disc Golf Course.

Once to the pier, firefighters used a ladder to climb up on the concrete slab.

The worn-out flag was carefully removed and the new one unfurled as it was cranked up the pole.

Newsum watched from the banks to see Old Glory rise again.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Fort Dodge firefighter Devon Schuster, guides the Fort Dodge Fire Rescue boat along the Des Moines River to the Bennett Pier Friday morning. That concrete pier is where firefighters raised a new American flag that can be seen from both the Kenyon Road Bridge and the Karl King Bridge.

The flag is 15 feet by 25 feet. A new one costs about $450. Newsum has paid for the flags in the past. He is now reimbursed for the flags through a pizza fundraiser at the Fort Dodge Correctional Facility.

Old Glory has waved atop the Bennett Pier since June 14, 2004. The flag was installed after Newsum started a fundraiser to do so.

“I was down on the bank prior to dragon boating one year and I saw that beautiful pier and thought what a place for an American flag,” Newsum said.

It took thousands of dollars gathered from multiple donors to make Newsum’s vision a reality.

But by February 2004, the pole was erected. A flag was formally dedicated on Flag Day that year.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson
Old Glory on the Bennett Pier along the Des Moines River is visible from Sunkissed Meadows Disc Golf Course. A plaque on the rock pictured reads “Stand straight and tall. Be proud to be an American. Old Glory. 2004. Thanks to all who contribued.” Newsum, an Iowa Air National Guard veteran, founded the project to raise the American flag on the pier.

The flag is typically replaced once or twice a year, Newsum said.

The timing from his vantage point couldn’t have been better.

“It was a good time to do with Flag Day coming up and everything going on in the country,” Newsum said. “It’s patriotic.”

A rock from Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex sits in the Sunkissed Meadows park. From there is a clear view of the flag.

On that rock a plaque reads, “Stand straight and tall. Be proud to be an American. Old Glory. 2004. Thanks to all who contributed.”

The Bennett Viaduct was built in 1910. It took travelers from from the intersection of G Street and Avenue C across the river and railroad tracks to Third Street and Second Avenue South. It was named after a past mayor of Fort Dodge, Sidney J. Bennett.

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