They're checking out Art and Judith (Dempsey) Malear's flagpole to see what country, sports, historical, or unusual flag is up there. "People on the trail always look to see what flag he's flying," said Judith.
This weekend, there's no doubt of the message on the flagpole: the Malears will salute Pumpkin Festival with a cheery Halloween pumpkin flag they had custom-made in New Hampshire.
 Judith, left, and her husband Art hoist their pumpkin flag up in front of their house to fly during the festival. |
The wind rising? Look for a weather-related flag signifying coming storms. Joggers get inspired by the sight of an Olympic Games banner cheering them on.
Passersby might get patriotic stirrings from seeing an old-style Union Jack fluttering in the coastal breeze. Or they might shake their heads at the old hammer-and-sickle flag representing the former Soviet Union.
A pirate flag hoisted aloft? Bad news, matey, for the San Francisco 49ers, of which Art is an avid fan. "He has a Jolly Roger to fly when they lose," laughed his wife.
It all started in 1972 when Art put up a flagpole and his sister in Texas gave him an American flag for it. Then he decided to celebrate different holidays, so the flagpole sported Christmas, Halloween or St. Patrick's Day banners.
Soon he started collecting flags from around the world, and friends' gifts added to the collection.
"I just like flags," shrugged Art, a retired purchasing agent. "I just have a flair for old English tournaments when knights (jousted with) each other. They always had banners up there."
The flag collection took an another meaning when Judith, on ordained interfaith minister, brought them into her work with Pacific Coast Weddings. At wedding sites, she flies the flags of the ancestral country of either bride or groom.
"We surprise them with their flag," she said.
She recalls the Polish couple who responded emotionally when they spotted, at their wedding, the Polish flag they hadn't seen in 12 years. "They cried," said Judith. "They were so happy."
The flags have touched others as well. The Malears recall an older employee of a local nursery, who gave them a flag from his home country, Romania. "He said, 'Here's my country's flag,'" said Judith. "'Fly it on (America's) Independence Day.'"
To her, the flags are a tribute. "It's a way to honor people," she said. "Flags take you to so many places all over the world."
It's fun to fly them too, she added. "We have so much fun flying flags no one can identify."
Even the old hammer-and-sickle?
"Yeah," said Art. "It's a historical flag. I will fly it."
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