Templeton seeks volunteers to lower flags, save town money

Stephen Landry, The Gardner NewsMon, May 11, 2026 at 8:50 AM UTC

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It’s never a happy occasion when the President or Governor orders the flags across the state to half-staff. But now officials in Templeton are looking for a few good and patriotic volunteers to take over the somber duty of ensuring the town’s flags are flying within federal and state compliance.

Town Administrator James Ryan said utilizing volunteers to lower and raise the flags in the community is a way to save money for residents.

“In order to raise and lower flags off hours, we’ve had to utilize our employees, which means paying employees overtime to come in on weekends,” Ryan said. “Every three years, we negotiate our union contracts and the unions in Templeton are very good to work with. One of my goals for the last round of negotiations was to pull flag lowering/raising duties out of the union contract by giving the work to volunteers.”

Officials in Templeton are looking for volunteers willing to perform the somber duty of lowering the towns' flags to half-staff during times of respect or national mourning.

The union was agreeable to the idea, according to Ryan.

“In the event we can’t get volunteers, we will still use our staff, but we will hopefully get the volunteers we need to save the town a good chunk of money,” he said.

Flags lowered more often than most people realize

Flags across the state, and of course within the town, are ordered lowered at a federal or state level much more often than the average resident might be aware.

More: Korean War veteran honored for his Navy service

“Unfortunately, we live in a world where bad things happen all too often, and we do a good job in the Commonwealth of recognizing those bad days which often require the lowering of flags as a sign of respect or mourning,” Ryan said.

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Flag volunteers will be assigned a member of the town’s Buildings and Grounds crew who will take them on a tour of the town, show them where all the appropriate flagpoles are, and give them a tutorial on how to properly lower and raise the flag.

“We’ll make sure everyone is comfortable (with the job) before we start calling for assistance,” Ryan said.

What to know about volunteering

What kind of resident would be best suited for this volunteer position? Veterans, said Ryan.

More: Hubbardston veteran on a mission to remember fallen heroes

“Veterans know what it’s like to serve, they know the value of community, and no one is more patriotic than a veteran,” he said. “However, anyone who wants to help the town and likes being outside is going to be perfect.”

Knowing how many flags there are around town, Ryan said they were hoping to get as many volunteers as possible.

“We don’t get notice when we have to lower flags, so when it happens, it happens,” he said. “We’ll need plenty of volunteers to call because not everyone will be able to respond when it’s time, so extra volunteers will be required.”

Anyone interested in volunteering or finding out more about the job is urged to contact Michelle at mvestgard@templetonma.gov.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Templeton seeks volunteers for flag duties

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