FINDLAY, OH (WLIO) - Findlay is celebrating the 50th anniversary of receiving the name "Flag City."
Families spent Sunday afternoon at the Hancock Historical Museum's free event learning about the American flag. Children could participate in patriotic crafts and take home a free book. For the next several weeks, there will also be a temporary display about the history of Findlay in the decades since the city got the nickname, and there are also Civil War-era flags on permanent display.
Many in the area take pride in being from "Flag City, USA," and it's even inspired the names of several local businesses, but not everyone knows where the name really comes from.
"There is a lot of misconception that Findlay had a flag manufacturing company, and that's why we got the name, and that's actually not true. John B. Cooke went around door-to-door making sure everyone was flying their flags, and that became such a legacy that several years later, Tennyson Guyer made it a mission to keep that legacy alive, effectively naming Findlay "Flag City, USA" officially," explained Sarah Foltz, the new executive director of the Hancock Historical Museum.
Visitors also met the founding father, John Hancock, and learned more about the life of the Revolutionary War hero that the county is named after.
"I used my training and experience in calligraphy to make a very beautiful signature that I said, 'I hope King George can read this without his spectacles.' Myself and the secretary were the only two people to sign the Declaration of Independence on July the 4th. The majority of the 56 signers came later. Actually, it took a couple of years to get everyone to sign," said Tom Davis, in character as Hancock.
John Hancock was also one of the richest men in America, but he nearly bankrupted himself while funding the war effort.
