CLAWSON, Mich. – As the country celebrates its 250th Anniversary, one of the most enduring symbols is the American flag, and a special version of the Betsy Ross flag has been made in Metro Detroit.
The flag is sewn in the traditional Ross flag style: the 13 alternating red and white stripes, the blue ensign in the upper left corner, and the 13 Colonial stars in a circle.
On the inside of the stars is the number 250.
It has become a viral collector’s item but has drawn some backlash from flag purists.
“We got a phone call from a gentleman saying we were defacing a US flag,” Jame Miles, the owner of American Flag and Banner, said. “They explained to us that the Betsy Ross is no longer a US flag; it is now just a commemorative historical image.”
The flags, which sell for $70 each, are hand-embroidered in the back of the shop.
The Ross flags have sold out as of July 3, but that hasn’t stopped the rush.
“We’re actually enhancing and complementing and glorifying Betsy Ross for 250 years,” Miles said.
Miles, 75, has run American Flag and Banner since 1980.
She has been with the company since 1977, when she was hired along with her late husband, Bill, by former owner Robert Erdman.
She had been working as a seamstress, sewing the interiors of caskets, and had graduated from Wayne State when an opportunity arose.
“I went in to see about being a sewer, and Mr. Erdman was ready to retire,” said Erdman. “He interviewed me and found out I could do the patterns, so I could run the sewing room, and my husband could do the business end of it.”
Jane and Bill, who passed away in 2018, bought the company when Erdman retired and moved it to Clawson.
American Flag and Banner was founded in Southwest Detroit in 1917.
The company and Miles have been involved in the production and finishing of large flags and banners of all varieties for more than a century.
Historically, the company has made and repaired flags and banners that hung everywhere, from the original Hudson’s Department Store to the Guardian Building to the Ambassador Bridge.
Miles and her crew also made all of the Detroit Red Wings’ championship and retired number banners that hung in Joe Louis Arena, as well as the banners for the Detroit Pistons’ 1989 and 1990 NBA Championships.
“I’ve always sewn, but everything that you sew is different,” Rosie Danz, a seamstress at American Flag and Banner, said while she sewed a 250-flag. “You can do clothing or this or something, you know. Everything you do, you have to learn really how to do it.”
Danz is the main seamstress. She works at the sewing machine in the back of the shop. She is often tasked with making new flags and repairing old ones.
She said it normally takes her about 45 minutes to make the 250 Betsy flags, and the semi-quincentennial has been a nice change of pace from the reasons that people normally buy flags in times of war or in remembrance of a veteran.
“This year it’s fun,” Miles said. “Everyone’s happy about it, so this time selling a lot of flags is joyful. They’re buying them for happy reasons, which in my lifetime we haven’t seen a surge like this.”
The 250 Betsy flags have sold out, and none will be available until at least October, when more Betsy Ross flags come in from Philadelphia.
After nearly 50 years making flags, Miles doesn’t see herself quitting.
Flags are her life.
“This is what I do. I don’t know what else to do,” Miles said. “I’m here. As long as I can make the drive and do the work, I’m staying.”