Inside was a 48-star American flag, folded into a square and sewn long before Alaska and Hawaii were states. “Your great-grandfather wanted you to have this today,” I said.

The 48-star flag is an understated legend. While we all love Alaska and Hawaii, the United States became back-to-back World War champions when the Stars and Stripes had only 48 stars.

The flag is nicknamed the “Stars and Stripes,” “Old Glory” or “The Star-Spangled Banner.” This is first United States postage stamp to feature the flag as the sole subject. United States; flag; old ...

Stark resident Steve Toohey has organized a traveling collection of American flags that help boost patriotism at every stop.