Rick Waltz, left and Mark Green drives screws into the twelvtha 120 foot wide American flag on C Hill. The flag was completed today with the help of inmates from Stewart Camp, but still needs to be cleaned due to a build up of static eletricity which attacted dirt until it was grounded. Photo by Brian Corley
To catch a glimpse of Carson City's patriotism, look up.
Nevada Division of Forestry crews helped finish installation of a 120-foot by 67-foot flag on the top of C Hill on Thursday.
"I just saw it from the school yard," said Tina Klos, 10, a fourth-grader at Fritsch Elementary School. "Everybody's talking about it."
And that's what Carson City residents Dan Mooney and Gilbert Ayarbe wanted when they came up with the idea to erect the 1,000-pound vinyl flag more than a month ago.
"It gives us an icon of security," Mooney said. "You look up at it and it's a symbol of freedom and of protection."
Mooney, along with others, has been working on the flag every day for the past month for around 12 hours a day.
"I'm not an emotional guy," he said. "But I'll tell you what, even yesterday seeing it halfway out was a hell of an experience."
A dedication for the flag is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. on C Hill.
Mooney said it would be impossible to give credit to all those who have helped place the flag on the hill as about 200 people have come and gone, helping with whatever they can.
However, those who have worked tirelessly on erecting the flag are the prison crews with Steve Robinson, state forester.
"They're a lifesaver," Mooney said. "These guys are skilled people. We've got carpenters and sheet-metal people. They've come through with the right decisions."
The one setback of the day was the dirt clinging to the flag from static electricity. Forestry workers were on the hill Thursday afternoon with 300 gallons of water to clean it up.
But if Old Glory was dirty, not many noticed.
Ashley Lange, 13, noticed it when she went out to play basketball for her physical education class at Carson Middle School.
"I think it's amazing," she said. "It stands for our country."
Like all symbols, the flag means different things to different people.
Heather Heuman, 15, was happy to see the flag to show her loyalty to the United States.
"I thought it was wonderful for them to go and do that for our country," she said. "I think it's worth putting it up there to show our respect."
For Nick Duvall, a freshman at Carson High School, it's a memorial symbol.
"It's showing that we care for the people who died," he said.
However it is interpreted, Katia Colorado, 11, thinks Carson City residents should join in displaying the red, white and blue.
"I think it's important to put out flags so people know we care for our country," she said.
If you go:
What: C-Hill flag dedication
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: C-Hill, using Rhodes Street route west to the mountain.
