Most people today have never seen a 48-star American flag in person. But once you do, it stands out immediately — the stars are set in neat parallel rows, unlike the staggered pattern on today’s 50-star flag.
The 48-star flag was used from 1912 until 1959 after both Hawaii and Alaska joined the union.
This past summer, one of these rare flags resurfaced in Coronado, in the newly installed Flag Drop Box at the VFW — a project completed by a local Eagle Scout.
The flags in the drop box are picked up to be decommissioned by Dee Folse, a San Diegan whose passion for the flag has led to his labor of love — the proper retirement of hundreds of American flags every year.
Somewhere around mid-August, Folse took delivery of a stack of flags that were picked up at the Coronado VFW. As he was tra