“The “Freeport Flag Ladies”
Since September 11, 2001 Elaine Greene, Joann Miller, and Carmen Footer have lived and breathed the American flag, reshaping their lives as a direct response to the September 11th attacks. Each Tuesday morning, they take their patriotic message to the corner of School and Main Streets in Freeport, Maine where they wave flags and greet passing cars with a smile. Over the past seven years, their mission has expanded to include other activities, such as greeting troop flights at Bangor International Airport and Pease International Trade Port, sending care packages to service men and women overseas, and attending local military and veterans’ functions. These three retired, divorced women have lived together since 1993, essentially becoming a family through the years. Their work with the troops, supported almost entirely through their own financial resources, has evolved into an all-consuming endeavor, with the women even dressing exclusively in red, white, and blue.
Documentary photographer Kelly Creedon met the “Freeport Flag Ladies” during her semester at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. Creedon was intrigued by the ideas of patriotism and trauma, collective and personal. In her inquiries with various local veterans’ organization she came across the “Freeport Flag Ladies”. Working with a fellow Salt student, Creedon spent winter and spring of 2008 documenting the life and mission of the Flag Ladies. Excerpts from the project were first exhibited as part of the group show “Reverb” at the Space Gallery in Portland, Maine, in May of 2008.
Ms. Creedon completed the graduate study program in documentary photography at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, where she was awarded first prize in the Institute’s photography competition and received a scholarship to fund her studies. Her recent work has focused on issues of immigration, labor, and economic and social justice, and her clients and partner organizations include the Christian Science Monitor, the Portland Press Herald, SEIU Local 615, City Life/Vida Urbana, and WBUR’s Radio Boston. She was recently awarded a Puffin Foundation grant for emerging artists to continue her work documenting communities affected by the foreclosure crisis in the greater Boston area. For more of her work, please visit her website: http://www.kellycreedon.com.
These photos are displayed courtesy of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.
Since September 11, 2001 Elaine Greene, Joann Miller, and Carmen Footer have lived and breathed the American flag, reshaping their lives as a direct response to the September 11th attacks. Each Tuesday morning, they take their patriotic message to the corner of School and Main Streets in Freeport, Maine where they wave flags and greet passing cars with a smile. Over the past seven years, their mission has expanded to include other activities, such as greeting troop flights at Bangor International Airport and Pease International Trade Port, sending care packages to service men and women overseas, and attending local military and veterans’ functions. These three retired, divorced women have lived together since 1993, essentially becoming a family through the years. Their work with the troops, supported almost entirely through their own financial resources, has evolved into an all-consuming endeavor, with the women even dressing exclusively in red, white, and blue.
Documentary photographer Kelly Creedon met the “Freeport Flag Ladies” during her semester at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. Creedon was intrigued by the ideas of patriotism and trauma, collective and personal. In her inquiries with various local veterans’ organization she came across the “Freeport Flag Ladies”. Working with a fellow Salt student, Creedon spent winter and spring of 2008 documenting the life and mission of the Flag Ladies. Excerpts from the project were first exhibited as part of the group show “Reverb” at the Space Gallery in Portland, Maine, in May of 2008.
Ms. Creedon completed the graduate study program in documentary photography at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, where she was awarded first prize in the Institute’s photography competition and received a scholarship to fund her studies. Her recent work has focused on issues of immigration, labor, and economic and social justice, and her clients and partner organizations include the Christian Science Monitor, the Portland Press Herald, SEIU Local 615, City Life/Vida Urbana, and WBUR’s Radio Boston. She was recently awarded a Puffin Foundation grant for emerging artists to continue her work documenting communities affected by the foreclosure crisis in the greater Boston area. For more of her work, please visit her website: http://www.kellycreedon.com.
These photos are displayed courtesy of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies.
Elaine Greene takes a nap in the back of the Freeport Flag Ladies van on the way to Bangor International Airport. The Flag Ladies have logged many long hours on the road traveling to meet the hundreds of military flights that pass through Bangor every year.
Elaine Greene takes a nap in the back of the Freeport Flag Ladies van on the way to Bangor International Airport. The Flag Ladies have logged many long hours on the road traveling to meet the hundreds of military flights that pass through Bangor every year.
