Lake George Rotary honors veterans with 500 flags

Members of the Lake George Rotary gathered Saturday morning at the Lake George Welcome Corner and Veterans Memorial to plant rows of American Flags on the hillside overlooking Route 9. Passing cars honked their horns to show support. For the past several years, Rotary Secretary Nancy Jefts says, they’ve installed the flags, 500 in all, on the Saturday before Veterans Day to prepare for Veterans Day.

Lake George High School students, Rotary Interact Club members under the advisership of Lake George teacher Pam McCullen, contributed to the project by clearing the hillside of autumn leaves and helping to plant flags. “Our mission,” says Jefts of the Rotary and Interact, is “to serve on the community and global level. This,” she says indicating the rows of American flags, “is a community-level project.”

The Rotary Welcome Corner project was driven by Rotarian Dennis Galloway, “The Welcome Corner and Veterans Memorial were both his babies,” says Jefts. Galloway, who passed away in February 2022 at the age of 97, was a WWII veteran and purple heart recipient. In addition to his more than 60 years with the Rotary, he served on the Town Council and Planning Board. He volunteered with the Lake George Fire Department and was involved in several other civic organizations.

Galloway was named Citizen of the Year in 2019 by the Village of Lake George Board of Trustees. He is credited with convincing the Department of Environmental Conservation to waive the fee for the drive up Prospect Mountain’s Veterans Memorial Parkway on Veterans Day.

Last week, the Town of Lake George placed a large stone at the Welcome Corner and Jefts says a plaque honoring Galloway will be attached to the stone. The Rotary plans to hold a dedication ceremony for the monument to Galloway on Memorial Day 2023.

The Veterans Day flags will remain in place until November 19 to greet travelers entering Lake George from the South or from Exit 21 of the Northway.