Historic Bethel Park flagpole rededicated at new home
Daniel McPoyle secrues the U.S. and POW/MIA flags after they have been raised on the 60-year-old pole relocated from St. Valentine School.
Henry Mannella, Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Pennsylvania senior vice commander, reads the commendation presented to U.S. Navy veteran Daniel McPoyle, right.
Gary Woodside, left, and Joe Spinnenweber, officers of Marine Corps League South Hills Detachment 726 raise the U.S. flag on the relocated pole during its rededication ceremony.
Members of the Vietnam Veterans Inc. Honor Guard stand at attention.
Bob Malley of the Marine Corps League South Hills Detachment 726 Color Guard saltues the flag.
For decades, students of St. Valentine School in Bethel Park watched the U.S. flag be raised and lowered on a pole that had been donated by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
“Over the past few years, though, the pole was in neglect and no longer being utilized,” said Bill Haberthur, secretary of the Bethel Park Historical Society board.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Flags fly again atop the 60-year-old pole.
He gathered with other society members, representatives of veterans’ organization and local residents for a Dec. 18 rededication of the flagpole at its new home, outside the original wing of the Schoolhouse Arts and History Center, built in 1905 to house Bethel High School and now serving as the historical society’s home.
Haberthur credited U.S. Navy veteran Daniel McPoyle, who served in the Vietnam War, with providing the impetus for the pole’s relocation. He had attended St. Valentine School, which the Diocese of Pittsburgh closed in 2009.
“He came to us and said, ‘You know, if I could get this pole donated, would you guys be willing to accept it?’ And we proudly said ‘yes,'” Haberthur said. “Many people said to us, with the money it would cost to restore this, you probably could go out and buy a few flagpoles. But that’s not what our mission statement is. We’re here to preserve the history of our community.”
A Raise the Flag campaign provided the necessary money, and the pole was moved 60 years after the now-defunct VFW Post 4532 presented it to St. Valentine.
Henry Mannella of West Mifflin, VFW Department of Pennsylvania senior vice commander, was among those attending the rededication.
“I actually have the original charter for the Bethel Park VFW, from 1945,” he said as he presented it to the historical society. “The Bethel Park VFW might not be here, but the charter belongs here.”
He also acknowledged McPoyle with a commendation from Nathan Smith, state commander, “for his work in the preservation of the history of VFW Post 4532.”
Members of the Vietnam Veterans Inc. Honor Guard and Marine Corps League South Hills Detachment 726 Color Guard participated in the raising of the American and POW/MIA flags for the first time at the pole’s new location.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Harry Funk/The Almanac
John Weinheimer, vice president of Vietnam Vets Inc., plays “Taps” to conclude the ceremony.