Garfield Flag Exhibit!
The long-awaited exhibition of the Garfield campaign flag was held at the Kennedy Center on the Hiram College campus February 20-22. The exhibit was a collaboration between Hiram College and the Hiram Historical Society. The flag dates to the 1880 presidential campaign of James A. Garfield. It was hand sewn in Hiram Village, and was flown daily during the course of Garfield’s campaign and subsequent nomination. The flag is massive, and in remarkably good condition despite several repairs, and 145 years of accumulated grime. The flag exhibit included numerous artifacts from the Garfield era along with photos and storyboards. Tim Garfield was on hand; he’s the Executive Director of the Garfield Trail Ohio organization, and great, great grandson of President Garfield. The event concluded with a keynote address by author and Garfield historian C.W. (Charlie) Goodyear. Charlie provided very engaging insight into Garfield’s life and times that was well received by the audience. He graciously signed copies of his book after the talk, then popped over to a reception at the Hiram Inn. Overall a wonderful event that brought together village residents, visitors, college staff and students. My thanks to Hiram Historical Society and Mayor Anne Haynam for allowing me rockstar access to the flag. Thanks also to Tim Garfield and Charlie Goodyear for my repeated requests for “just one more photo”. And also the honor guards from the VFW and American Legion that stood by for the entirety of the event.
Written and photographed by Dave Dreimiller. Follow my photography on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571786786477
The Garfield flags measures 12’ 4” x 23’ 4”. I needed my widest lens to get the entire thing in a single frame. The flag features the 38 star pattern which was in effect from 1877-1890.
Tim and Carla Garfield.
A Lucretia Garfield presenter was on hand for the closing day of the exhibit.
Closeup view of one of the heavy bronze grommets and the patent dates on the flag header.
An assortment of Garfield artifacts from private collections and the Hiram College archives helped round out the flag exhibit.
Author C.W. Goodyear and Emliss Ricks at the book signing.
HHS member John Groselle inspecting the flag during setup the evening before the show opened.
Visitors engage with one of several storyboards provided by the Garfield Trail Ohio organization, HIram College, and Hiram Historical Society.
Author C.W. Goodyear poses with the Garfield flag.
Ellen Eckhouse, owner of the Village Bookstore in Garrettsville was on hand with a supply of C.W. Goodyear’s book President Garfield, from Radical to Unifier.
One of many conversations Charlie had with fans during the book signing.
Closeup view of the flag reveals some of the tedious hand stitching that went into its construction. Must have been an arduous task to complete the flag which involved several hundred lineal feet of stitching.
One of several repaired sections of the flag where different cloth was sewn into the original piece.
C.W. Goodyear and Tim Garfield make their way to the Hiram Inn from the exhibit hall at Kennedy Center.
Tim Garfield, Hiram Mayor Anne Haynam, and HHS member Lisa Vani Wright.
Tim Garfield and Hiram College President Robert Bohrer.
C.W. Goodyear and Hiram Council Member Chris Perme exchange a laugh at the book signing.
I crept back into the exhibit hall just before it was locked up at the conclusion of the show. It was a very somber scene with the lights off. This seemed a fitting way to frame the final photo.