An Imperial family used their home’s front lawn to make a big statement.
Tony and Nicki Pona along with their son, Anthony, and other friends painted a 70-by-37-foot American flag outside of their home at 934 Rose Hill Road off Hwy. 61-67 in Imperial to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States.
“I thought I wanted to do something for the 250th,” Tony, 51, said. “I was watching TV, and they were setting up in Washington, D.C. I thought they are doing it at the capital, why not do it in other parts of the country. I thought it would be good timing and would be something positive.
“It is something I knew we could do and pull it off.”
Tony said he knew he could pull it off because he and his wife helped paint a large American flag on a lawn about 25 years ago.
He said they were living in south St. Louis County, and his friend, Andy Meyer, asked him to help paint a flag following the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001.
Nicki, 50, said that flag was about half the size of the one they painted in their yard this year.
“I was downstairs and ran into the copies of the newspaper,” Nicki said of coverage of the previous flag that was painted in a yard near the intersection of Butler Hill and Kerth roads. “After 9/11, American flags went up everywhere, and it brought the country together. Patriotism is something we need more of. I was all for (doing it again).”
Along with celebrating the anniversary of the country, the flag is being used as a way to collect money for Arnold VFW Post 2593.
Tony said in 2001, numerous people asked how they could support the flag painting and if money was being collected for a charity. He is not connected to a charitable organization, but he had met retired Marine Cpl. Todd Nicely, who grew up in Arnold. The two met when Nicely was signing copies of his book “Your Choices Change Lives.”
“I reached out to (Nicely) and asked him for a charity we could funnel people to,” Tony said. “He said the VFW is always a good one. I reached out to (Kelly McAfee, Arnold VFW Post 2593 general manager), and she took the ball and ran with it.”
On July 2, McAfee brought a table, two donation boxes and flyers promoting the Ponas’ flag and a fund called “Patriotism Defined” that the Arnold VFW created for donations. The flyer has a QR code that leads people to a website to make donations.
McAfee said the money collected will be used to support various military veteran programs.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing,’” she said when Tony contacted her about collecting money for the Arnold VFW. “This is what we want, community support. Sometimes we forget that we have veterans out there who need help.
“I thought this is fantastic. It is not only a great thing that Tony is doing, but it can help the local VFW, too.”
Painting
Tony said it was a little easier to paint the flag than it was 25 years ago. He said he found a calculator after a Google search to help him create measurements.
“You don’t do figuring anymore,” Tony said. “Once you get some measurements, you put stakes in the ground and run some string line for your perimeter.”
Tony said the base for the flag was painted blue and then more string was added to set off the blue patch for the stars and for the red and white stripes.
Plywood is placed between the rows for the stripes, and red stripes were painted first and then the white stripes. The process finished with the painting of the stars, using a piece of plywood with a star cut out of the middle.
Tony said there were six people helping every day and an additional 14 more people helped when they could. He said the measurements were made on June 28, and the flag was completed on July 1.
“We had friends who brought their kids over, and we would let the kids spray paint for a little bit,” he said. “We tried to include the kids because I don’t think kids get the sense of country and patriotism that we had growing up.”
Nicki said even though the work was done in the evening, it was still hot.
“I didn’t consider it work, even though it was so hot,” she said. “We were on a mission to make it look nice and properly represented. We did one color a day, and we took breaks. I had water and Gatorades to hydrate everyone. I also made food for everyone. We were cautious of the heat.”
Tony said Meyer, who now lives in Herculaneum, helped paint the flag.
“I said I want to paint the flag again for the 250th, and he said, ‘I’m in,’” Tony said. “When he first did it, I was in my mid-20s and we had no idea how to do it. This time was a little easier, we had the learning curve down a little bit.”
Tony said Meyer’s brother, Max, painted a similar flag at his home in Utah.
“It is being done in two states,” Tony said.
Tony said Anthony, 20, also was excited to be part of painting the flag.
“He saw the photo albums and papers growing up,” Tony said. “It was a big deal back then.”
The flag can be seen by those driving on Hwy. 61-67, and the Ponas have set up lights around the flag so it can be seen at night.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that is amazing,’” McAfee said of seeing the flag. “I didn’t think I would see it (from Hwy. 61-67). As soon as you approach the street, you see it. You can’t just drive by that and not have an emotional feeling. It definitely gives you goosebumps.”
Traffic
Tony said he expects numerous people to stop by the flag every day, based on what happened in 2001 and those who stopped to see what the family was doing while painting the flag this year.
“We had a couple of people reach out when we first did the blue to find out what we were doing,” he said. “When we started painting the red stripes, people started realizing what we were doing. People have stopped by to get pictures with it.”
Nicki said the family wants people to see the flag.
“I welcome anyone and all to come and take pictures and celebrate America,” she said.
Tony said he hopes the flag helps people to feel pride in the country.
“Hopefully, it will spread the word of patriotism again,” he said. “I think a lot of people are supportive of our country, especially around here. I think people rally around the flag still.”