AUBURN — “Oh, say, can you see…?”
There’s a huge new star-spangled mural adorning the entire side of the American Legion Alden M. Gayton Post 31 building at 426 Washington Street North.
Artist Scott LoBaido of Staten Island, N.Y., began this mural Thursday and finished it Saturday. It’s 16 feet high and 30 feet wide. Created exclusively for Auburn’s American Legion Post 31, the flag is a realistic close-up view of the waving Stars and Stripes.
An outdoor dedication event took place Sunday morning to mark Flag Day and Maine’s representation among similar murals on American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars locations throughout the nation. LoBaido was joined by John Harker, a Maine resident who is the great, great, great, great grandson of Betsy Ross, for the dedication. Maine Gov. Paul LePage also took part in the program which was attended by a few dozen American Legion members and officials, as well as members of the public.
This is number 28 in the artist’s six-month “Flags Across America” project to paint flags on veterans’ organization buildings in all 50 states. He told the audience “there’s a tremendous trend to patriotism” these days. And his objective is to paint massive flags on high-visibility veterans’ buildings.
“It’s bold, it’s bright, and it’s for children to see,” LoBaido said. “When children say ‘What’s that big flag?’ I want them to be told, ‘That’s where the heroes hang out.’”
LoBaido started his solo tour with a swing through the southern states beginning in February. He has continued up the West Coast, to Alaska, and across northern states to Maine. LoBaido travels in “Betsy,” his 2008 Chevy Suburban fully-flag-painted by him. The vehicle is up for auction during the tour.
The American flag “is a true work of art,” LoBaido told Sunday morning’s audience. Each flag he paints on the tour is different and each must meet the requirements of many different styles of buildings.
Many views of flags painted on buildings by LoBaido can be seen on his Web site, www.scottlobaido.com. Supplies for his tour are donated by several companies. He thanked Auburn’s Home Depot for their assistance in the local project.
LoBaido’s flag-painting projects have been nationally recognized for several years. In 2010, he painted what is called the world’s largest American flag on a warehouse roof in Texas. That painting covers 150,000 square feet, which is about three and a half acres.
John Harker, who has been a resident of Mount Vernon, Maine, since 1980, described research on his ancestor, Betsy Ross, and her legendary connection with the first “circle of stars” flag. He said his father did extensive research confirming Betsy Ross’s first use of a five-pointed star and her many years spent hand-sewing flags of various designs. There is still controversy about over-all design of the flag by Betsy Ross, but Harker said his father’s book, “Betsy Ross’s Five Pointed Star,” presents documentation of her role in the flag’s evolution.
Harker said, “Scott LoBaido and Betsy Ross are both true artisans and patriots in their respective crafts and eras.”
Gov. LePage told the dedication audience, “Maine has a long heritage of serving our country,” all the way from the Revolutionary War. He paid special tribute to recent veterans who served voluntarily in Iraq and Afghanistan, often through multiple deployments.
Harker presented “circle of stars” flags to LoBaido and to Post 31 Commander Alain Laverdure, and he gave copies of the book to Gov. LePage and Post 31 Auxiliary Historian Diana St. Pierre.
The National Anthem was sung by Heidi Bernier, Post 31 Auxiliary treasurer.
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