Ohio
Sewing the Stars and Stripes: Ohio’s tie to the American flag
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.
The work that educators do every day in teaching and furthering research and innovation is the foundation of The Ohio State University’s land-grant mission, President Ravi V. Bellamkonda said at the university’s annual Faculty Awards Celebration. The event was held May 6 at Vitria on the Square on Ohio State’s Columbus campus.
“The question is, what should we be doing together and what’s the goal for us as we move forward? I’d like to suggest that I would like for all of us to give ourselves the gift of reasonably high expectations of what we can achieve together, and you exemplify this,” Bellamkonda told the honorees.
“I’m optimistic about our future because of what you do in the classroom and the scholarship and the mentoring and the teaching and the community that you have created.”
The celebration shines a light on faculty’s contributions to Ohio State and the citizens that the university serves, Interim Provost Trevor Brown said.
“I want to acknowledge how special all of our faculty are in the work that they do in generating knowledge and sharing that with students and the broader community,” he said. “That is important and essential work.
The Distinguished University Professor appointment, Ohio State’s highest faculty honor, was awarded to: Gail E. Besner, College of Medicine; Shan-Lu Liu, College of Veterinary Medicine; Alan Luo, College of Engineering; Giorgio Rizzoni, College of Engineering; Brent Sohngen, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CFAES); and Claudia Turro, College of Arts and Sciences.
“The title of distinguished university professor is a permanent honorific that includes automatic membership in the president’s and provost’s advisory committee,” said Patrick Louchouarn, senior vice provost for leadership and external engagement.
Three professors were recognized with the President and Provost’s Award for Distinguished Faculty Service: Caroline T. Clark, College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE); Susan E. Cole, College of Arts and Sciences; and John E. Davidson, College of Arts and Sciences.
The Distinguished Scholar Award was presented to six faculty members: Christopher R. Browning, College of Arts and Sciences; David L. Hoffman, College of Arts and Sciences; Christopher Jaroniec, College of Arts and Sciences; Christopher A. Jones, College of Arts and Sciences; Matthew D. Ringel, College of Medicine; and Han-Wei Shen, College of Engineering.
Also recognized were recipients of the Provost’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Lecturer and the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching
These honorees “are inducted into the Academy of Teaching and are honored with the academy’s medallion,” said Helen Malone, vice provost for faculty affairs. “Academy of Teaching members wear these distinctive medallions as part of their academic regalia.”
The Provost’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Lecturer honorees are:
Christiane Buuck, College of Arts and Sciences.
Alexia Leonard, College of Engineering.
David Matthews, College of Pharmacy.
Calvin Olsen, College of Arts and Sciences.
U.S. Navy Lt. Michael L. Terranova, Naval ROTC.
Jennifer Walters, College of Arts and Sciences.
The Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching honorees are:
Jasmine Abukar, EHE.
Yigit Akin, College of Arts and Sciences.
Dawn Allain, College of Medicine.
Rebecca R. Andridge, College of Public Health.
Amanda Bird, College of Arts and Sciences.
Ellen Klinger, CFAES.
Danielle Schoon, College of Arts and Sciences.
Guramrit Singh, College of Arts and Sciences.
Margaret Sumner, College of Arts and Sciences.
Ryan J. Yoder, College of Arts and Sciences.
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North Central Ohio Industrial Museum
North Central Ohio Industrial Museum houses hundreds of products made in north central Ohio — including appliances, tires, pumps and much more.
MANSFIELD ― If you’re interested in manufacturing, you can come and see hundreds of products made in North Central Ohio — including appliances, tires, pumps, Klondike bars, cigars and pieces made for streetcars.
The North Central Ohio Industrial Museum inside the lower east diagonal wing of the historic Ohio State Reformatory showcases the history of manufacturing in Mansfield and surrounding areas.
Location
The Ohio State Reformatory, 100 Reformatory Road, Mansfield.
Why it matters
The museum traces the history of manufacturing in North Central Ohio since the first steam locomotive came through town in 1846. Exhibits highlight the accomplishments of local residents and industry in peace and war, according to NCOIM President Jerry Miller.
What to see
The NCOIM has several themed sections of exhibits, beginning with “Every town had a mill,” then the Cast Iron Age, City of Stoves, Wires & Electric Exhibits, Cigar & Beer, Wheels, AG Industry and Mickey Rupp, which then begins an exhibit on what is currently manufactured in Richland County.
Miller said the late Bob Glasener started the museum and was responsible for saving many local industrial artifacts over the years. Miller said Glasener’s daughter has in her possession the 1939 World’s Fair Westinghouse (gold-plated) roaster, which she donated to the museum.
The museum is full of surprising finds.
Elektro the Westinghouse robot should be on display this summer at the North Central Ohio Industrial Museum after being restored.
A manhole and stormwater grate from 1935 made by the Tappan Stove Co. are among the treasures Miller helped to preserve. He also has the Tappan marquee and a Westinghouse marquee.
Plan your visit
Hours/admission: The museum will be open the same hours as OSR and will be free to tour with the purchase of a ticket to the prison-turned-museum.
Getting there: OSR is on the north side of Mansfield, just off U.S. 30.
Learn more: mrps.org (OSR is operated by the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society).
Contact Lou Whitmire at 419-5-21-7223. She can be reached at X at @lwhitmir.
WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) — A Warren man who led police on a chase received his sentence on Wednesday.
Michael Greene, 32, was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to make restitution.
Greene pleaded guilty in February to failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and failure to stop after an accident.
Greene was charged following a November 2025 police chase in Niles.
Prosecutors say that the chase involved speeds of about 103 miles per hour.
It was discovered that the car Greene was driving was reported stolen by a family member.
Patty Coller contributed to this report.
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