The American flags that are now hanging on telephone poles along Route 1 in Woolwich, from the Dairy Queen to the Taste of Maine restaurant, are there in large part due to the inspiring spirit and effort of Woolwich resident Gloria Brawn.

For the past few years, Brawn had noticed the American flags in other Maine towns such as Wiscasset and Damariscotta that hang along village telephone poles from Memorial Day through the summer and into the early fall.

Brawn said she found the flags to be incredibly touching; simple but beautiful reminders of small town patriotism and respect for our nation’s soldiers. She wondered why Woolwich didn’t have flags flying along Route 1, and then she wondered what she could do to make that very thing happen.

Her first step was to get permission from Woolwich selectmen as well as the utility companies that own the telephone poles to actually hang the flags from the poles. Soon after, Woolwich Fire & Rescue got involved when they offered to donate money towards the project. Woolwich Town Administrator Lynette Eastman set up an account for donations, and suddenly, Brawn’s dream was becoming a reality.

“Most of you know that I am a patriotic kind of guy,” Woolwich Selectman Lloyd Coombs said at the beginning a July 7 board meeting. “Now, every day when I turn from the River Road onto Route 1, I get a lump in my throat.”

Fourteen flags and poles have been purchased so far, costing a little over $700. Each flag and pole costs about $50. Everything that has been bought so far has been through donations from local businesses and community members. Brawn is thrilled with the reception she received and the success of the project so far.

But the project is far from complete. Her ultimate goal is to see flags flying along Route 1 from the Dairy Queen all the way to the Woolwich-Wiscasset town line.

That’s a lot of miles to cover — and a lot of telephone poles to get flags on. But Brawn is not one to back down from adversity. Twenty-seven years ago, a car accident with a moose in Linneus put her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Despite that, she has been skydiving, she loves to travel, she paints, she reads, she plays with her great grandchildren and swims with them in her pool every summer.

Brawn was born in Houlton in 1944, one of six kids. When she was 11 years old, her family moved to Bath. She attended Morse High School where she met her husband of 52 years, Arthur Brawn.

“Once she gets her teeth in something, she doesn’t let go,” said son Roger Brawn, who serves in the Maine Army National Guard.

Brawn said her passion is to enjoy life with the people she loves.

Donations for the flag project are still very much needed and are being accepted through the Woolwich Town Office. Thanks to the hard work of all parties involved, Brawn’s dream of seeing flags flying along the entire stretch of Route 1 in Woolwich just may come true.

“The flags mean to me that our town and its people respect our country and the soldiers that have fought or are fighting to keep us safe,” says Brawn. “It is the least we could do.”