Americans celebrate Independence Day with parade floats decked out in red, white and blue, hot dogs fresh off the grill, and sparkler streaked sketches into the summer night.

But perhaps no symbol is more iconic of Fourth of July festivities than the American flag itself.

The national emblem flies all over the world, but many started from strips of fabric at a warehouse in a small Ohio city.

Making American flags

When Director of Operations Bobbi Parks opens a set of double doors to Annin Flagmakers’ Coshocton factory, the space comes alive with the sounds of humming sewing machines.

“All the way down through here are our sewing cells,” she said, walking past workers stitching together ribbons of red and white fabric from 500-yard spools.

“This here is our stripe department.”

Flag makers sew stripes together in sets of sixes and sevens. One set attaches to a blue field filled with 50 white stars. The other connects underneath, tying the banner together.

“There’s a sense of pride in what we do,” said flag maker Jonna Smith. “You go down the street and see them hanging on the poles, and you’re like, ‘Hey, I probably made that.’”

With 12 years under her belt, Smith is one of the factory’s newer hires. Many of her coworkers have been here upwards of two, three, even four decades.

But Annin Flagmakers has been in business long before them.

A history of Annin Flagmakers

The company started in 1847 in New York City, when two young entrepreneurs took over their father’s business. Instead of continuing the ship chandlery, Edward and Benjamin Annin — who were just 15 and 13 at the time — decided to focus on flags.

They got the business started just in time to supply American flags to the army during the Mexican-American War and later, the Civil War.

Since then, the company has made some iconic banners: the flag draped over Abraham Lincoln’s casket, the flag raised by U.S. Marines at Iwo Jima, the flag on the moon and the flags at every presidential inauguration since Zachary Taylor.

Annin Flagmakers expanded to Coshocton nearly 50 years ago. It’s now one of three factories in the county. Two others in Virginia embroider stars and print state and custom flags, while the Coshocton facility focuses mainly on producing American flags.

After terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on 9/11, workers at this location pieced together the Red, White and Blue. Production manager Kelly Watson remembers demand for flags was so high, the factory could hardly keep up.

“We had truck drivers that sat outside for like two, three hours waiting on the women to sew so they could take off with finished flags,” she said.

It was a time when patriotism was fervent.

“I mean, everybody flew a flag,” she said.

These days, demand isn’t quite what it was post-9/11, but it’s still high. Workers at the Coshocton factory alone make upwards of 50,000 flags a week during peak season, Parks said.

So if you’re raising a flag this Fourth of July or waving one in the neighborhood parade, it just might be made right here in Ohio.

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — A sixth grade teacher in the Middletown City School District might have to take a little time off next school year to compete in the Mrs. America pageant after she was crowned Mrs. Ohio America last week.

Dr. Anedra Million, a teacher at Highview Sixth Grade Center, won Ohio’s pageant for a chance to compete for the title of Mrs. America 2024 in Las Vegas this August.

“Glory to God!!!” Million said in a social media post after the pageant. “I am extremely humbled and honored to announce that I was crowned as the new Mrs. Ohio America!!!!!!!!!! I am going to Mrs. America!!!!!”

Unlike Miss Ohio, Mrs. Ohio must be a legally married resident of Ohio. Contestants participate in an evening gown, swimsuit and interview portion of the competition before judges select the year’s winner.

Each state’s winners then compete in the Mrs. America pageant, with the winner of that competition participating in Mrs. World. According to Mrs. America’s database, Ohio representative Cynthia Pensiero won Mrs. America in 1996.

Our partners at the Journal-News said Middletown’s Susan Perkins was crowned Miss America in 1978. She has been a professional singer, spokesperson and TV reporter and participated in several volunteer activities supporting U.S. veterans.

While the Ohio State Buckeyes are already ranked as the No. 1 recruiting class in college football for 2025, they are still looking to add talent to their future roster.

Later this week, the Buckeyes will learn the decision of one of their key defensive targets in the class.

2025 four-star linebacker Riley Pettijohn will announce his commitment decision on Saturday.

Aside from Ohio State, Pettijohn is considering offers from Texas, Texas A&M, and USC. Lately, the battle has seemingly come down to the Buckeyes and Longhorns.

Pettijohn is ranked as the No. 31 overall player in the entire 2025 recruiting class. He has also received the prestigious ranking of No. 4 among linebackers. Clearly, he would be a massive upgrade for the future Ohio State defense.

Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis has been very high on Pettijohn throughout the 2025 recruiting cycle. He clearly believes that the young linebacker has superstar potential at the college level.

Hailing from McKinney High School in McKinney, Texas, the 6-foot-3 and 200-pound linebacker was originally a safety in his high school football career. After he made the switch to linebacker, his career really took off.

In an interview shared by On3, Pettijohn talked about the position switch and why it worked so well for him.

“Being switched to a new position, it was hard. But we worked through it. I kept working hard at all the little things. I grew some and added weight (30 pounds). It was the right move. I like being a thorn in the side of offenses. I like to fly around and just make plays.”

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see where Pettijohn chooses to commit on Saturday.

Hopefully, Ohio State will add another big-time talent to their 2025 class. He would fit in well and would help become a major playmaker for the Buckeyes down the road.