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Flag won’t fly at McPolin Barn this year

The McPolin Barn will not display the American flag this year due to upgrades that are scheduled to start in June. (Park Record file photo)
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A visual tradition will be absent from the McPolin Barn this year. The American flag, which is usually put on display from Memorial Day to Sept. 12, will not fly this year.

"Because we are going to do the structural upgrade starting in June and running into October, we thought we wouldn’t put the flag up this year because it would only be up for a few days," said Denise Carey, facility coordinator for Park City Municipal and manager of the McPolin Farm. "After a lot of discussion and consideration, we made that decision because the flag would only be up for a few days. We didn’t want to keep the flag up during the upgrade because we didn’t want the flag to get ruined."

Carey wanted the public to know about the change this year because the flag and McPolin Barn have become a destination for many people during the summer.

"The barn is very important to everyone and attracts all types of visitors — tourists, hikers, locals, painters, photographers, history buffs and picnickers," she said. "If you look on Facebook, it’s amazing to see all the pictures that are taken in front of the barn. And if you go into the art galleries on Main Street, you can see countless paintings and photographs of the barn. So, it’s important to let people know."

Since 2001, the flag has been displayed on McPolin Barn.

Right after 9/11, Park City Municipal’s parks department began hanging the flag on the east side of the barn, Carey said.

"That first year, we kept it up for a year to honor everyone who we lost and to honor the first responders," Carey said. "Then we thought about it and wanted the flag to have more meaning. That’s why we began putting it up on Memorial Day and taking it down after 9/11."

It takes a crew of three to hang the flag.

"The guys take the boom truck and go out there at ‘0-dark 100’ and get it up on the barn and then we send the guys back the day after 9/11 to take it down," Carey explained.

Throughout the summer, the flag is exposed to the elements and it costs $400 every other year to replace it.

"I’m not sure the exact size of the flag, but I know we have to replace it because it gets blown around and tattered," Carey said. "The wind out at the barn is pretty strong and we don’t want to tie the flag down at all four corners because then it would get ripped. We also just want the flag to flow."

Carey promised the flag would fly next year.

"The best part about the reason why the flag won’t be up this year is because we are going to be doing the structural upgrade," she said. "That’s the most important thing because the barn means so much to people."

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