Goderich Mayor Deb Shewfelt, Operations Director Chip Wilson, Deputy Mayor John Grace and Clerk / Chief Administrator Larry McCabe with a framed torn flag of Goderich rescued after the tornado.
Bullet News GODERICH – Two days after a tornado went through Goderich and area, a town employee scrambled up a ladder and removed a torn flag from a bent pole out front of town hall.
A tear ripped through the blue line that formed the octagonal representation of the downtown square and cut into the crown at its centre. Two clean lines intersected at 90-degree angles, cutting a perfect square of fabric from the flag, and leaving it hanging by a seam.
That day in August 2011, the town’s operations director, Chip Wilson, tucked it behind the seat of his truck where it stayed for months before being transferred to a drawer in his office. Recently, he discovered the flag and he, along with John Grace, who is deputy mayor, pooled their money and had the flag encased in a glass-fronted white frame as a gift to the town, which they presented to Mayor Deb Shewfelt tonight at Goderich Town Council. A plaque inset with the flag shows a picture of it flying in front of town hall prior to the tornado.
“I don’t know what to say,” said Shewfelt, accepting the gift. “That’s one thing when we show the video of the storm that brings the lumps into my throat – when I see the two flags that were there. Every time they show it, it brings back memories.”
The framed flag will be displayed in town hall.
