Story By John Mann
With Veteran’s Day just around the corner there is a new flag flying over Lake Guntersville as of Wednesday thanks to Guntersville Marine Inc. and Alabama Flag and Banner. The 30x60’ American flag sits atop the tallest flagpole in the Guntersville area, looking out over the water across from City Harbor and the river bridge.
“Cody Burgess with Guntersville Marine called us and said the owners really wanted something to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the country next year,” Alabama Flag and Banner President Belinda Kennedy said. “They had considered painting their roof but they really wanted something more permanent like a flagpole. They opted to go with a 100 foot pole and we’re erecting it today in advance of Veteran’s Day which was also very important to them.”
It total the flagpole has a total height of 110’, with eleven feet buried below ground in a pad that contains nearly eight tons of concrete. Weighing in at over five thousand pounds the pole made of steel with a half inch thick wall. The base of the pole comes in at fourteen inches wide, and at the very top is a fourteen inch finial ball.
The pole doesn’t use an exterior pully rope but instead an internal mechanism for raising and lowering the flag, which is used to hoist the nearly sixty pound flag. The pole, along with the flag itself, were completely made domestically with domestic materials.
“The pole is one hundred percent American made with no imported parts,” Kennedy said. “Everything is from right here in the good old USA.”
The flag that now sits atop the pole was also sewn by Alabama Flag and Banner using American made thread and fabric. Being made of nylon gives the flag a lighter weight and faster drying time, allowing it to catch the wind more efficiently. The pole and flag will be lit as well, making them visible from all over the harbor even at night.
“It’s a huge flag and you don’t really understand how big it is until it starts coming out of the box and it just keeps coming and coming,” Kennedy said. “It’s weight is about sixty pounds but it will fly like a piece of tissue paper up there which tells you a lot about the amount of wind it’s catching. At night it will be absolutely stunning, they have a light on it and that pole will almost glow in the dark.”
Alabama Flag and Banner is based out of Huntsville and has been in business for forty years, having opened in January of 1985, offering a wide variety of custom flagpoles and flags both residential and commercial. For the Guntersville Marine project they were joined by Whitaker Towing, Hauling and Crane, C&C Asphalt and Concrete and Corbitt Bucket Truck to bore the hole, lay the pad and lift the giant pole into position.
Guntersville Marine meanwhile is a full service harbor terminal that provides material handling and management services, serving three of the area’s largest feed mills. The company is owned by brothers Mike and Jeff Leuken of St. Louis, who commissioned the flag to celebrate the 250th birthday of the country.
“Our country has a big birthday coming up,” Cody Burgess, Purchasing and Safety for Guntersville Marine, said. “Mr. Mike and Jeff Leuken they wanted to give back to our country and our city and we’re all proud of everything we’ve accomplished in Guntersville. This is just a way of paying it forward, it’s amazing to see it going up, it’s tremendous for our area and we’re all excited about it. It’s come at the perfect time for Veteran’s Day and I hope everyone who sees it enjoys it.”
More information about Alabama Flag and Banner can be found on their website at alabamaflag.com or by calling 256-534-1300.
