Stores sell out of U.S. flags as citizens look to show pride
By Marcie Miller
Herald Writer
Brisk sales of American flags and patriotic paraphernalia were reported at many Snohomish County stores Wednesday as people reacted to Tuesday’s terrorist attack back east.
Some stores had sold out of flags by the close of the business day Tuesday. It was a nationwide trend, as Wal-Mart stores sold 88,000 flags that day, 15 times more than usual, a corporate spokeswoman said.
"Flags are flying," said Kathy Cotterill, accounting assistant at Ben Franklin Crafts and Frames in Monroe.
Store owners said in a time when people feel so helpless, buying a flag seems to make them feel they are doing something, and it gives them a reason to come together.
On Wednesday, Kathleen Conway and Beverly Bowers were on their way to volunteer at the Everett Gospel Mission, carrying American flags, when they spontaneously decided to let them fly.
"I looked at my friend and said, ‘What do you think?’ She said, ‘Why not.’ "
A short time later, the two women were standing on an I-5 overpass waving their flags at passing motorists.
"The response was overwhelming," Conway said. "There was honking, waving, peace signs, No. 1 hand signs. It was a very positive response.
"I feel like there aren’t enough of us who support us — as in U.S.," she said. "We wanted to get out there and say we’re behind our country no matter what."
Bowers had purchased the flags for the Fourth of July and was glad she had them on hand.
"Everybody is kind of in devastation mode," said Betty Pullen, general manager of Snohomish Co-Op True Value. She sold her last flag Wednesday morning and planned to order more — if she can find any.
At Carr Hardware in downtown Marysville, Anna Stevens said sales had been "unbelievable." Carr is out of the larger flags but still has porch-size and hand-held flags, the kind people normally wave at parades. Stevens said her husband is retired from the Navy, and she is "very, very patriotic."
Walt Nicholas, owner of Stanwood Hardware, said his flag selection was pretty picked over by Wednesday, with most of the mid-price flags gone. One lady said she had been meaning to buy a flag for years, he said.
A hardware store employee bought red, white and blue ribbons to fashion into lapel ribbons for the staff, much like what people wear to remember AIDS victims or the yellow ribbons that were so popular during the Persian Gulf War.
Jo-Ann Fabrics in Everett, which only carries flags for the Fourth of July, said they were sold out of ribbon striped red, white and blue.
In Marysville, Jeannette Beams, owner of Fudge and the Funnies fabric store, was putting out red, white and blue windsocks in front of her store.
Beams said the shop is often a gathering place where customers can sit at a big craft table and work or just visit, but the mood was different Tuesday.
"I noticed women were coming in pairs," she said. "They seemed to be out to get away from the TV. They just looked at quilts and browsed, almost as if they wanted to touch something that was part of normal reality when everything else in their world was upside down."
You can call Herald Writer Marcie Miller at 425-339-3292
or send e-mail to mmiller@heraldnet.com.
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