EASTHAMPTON — The American flag that has hung proudly over Easthampton’s iconic Nashawannuck Pond since Sept. 11, 2001 has been taken down ahead of the winter season — but this time, it may not return with warmer weather.

The flag has historically been brought down on the Tuesday after Veterans Day. This year, the cable on which the flag is suspended came down as well upon the request of Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle. LaChapelle told the Gazette that the flag has been in violation of the national flag code that details how and when flags can be flown on government property, particularly because the flag is not illuminated at all times or “properly taken up and down.”

“It’s very particular when a flag is being flown on government property,” LaChapelle said of the flag code. “It’s how we show respect and acknowledge American history.”

On Wednesday night, dozens of Easthampton citizens spilled into the hallway, filling the first floor of City Hall and vying for space in the conference room where a Parks and Recreation Commission meeting was to be held to discuss the matter. But those community members went home disappointed by news that they would have to wait to voice their concerns.

The meeting was scheduled to be held in a small conference room, as the larger meeting chambers were being used for that night’s City Council meeting. Because of the limited space and sizable crowd, the meeting had to be postponed as the room was vastly over capacity.

Many of those residents who showed up to the meeting Wednesday viewed the flag situation differently. Darlene Orvieto said she thinks opponents to the flag over Nashawannuck Pond have been viewing the flag as a “sociopolitical symbol.”

“But it’s much greater than that,” said Orvieto, who also stated that if the problem is that the flag needs to be lit, “there’s a very simple way to do that.”

Former mayor weighs in

On Nov. 4, Easthampton Parks and Recreation Director John Mason emailed former Easthampton Mayor Michael Tautznik, who has long served as spokesperson for the flag, alerting him to an email from LaChapelle’s office notifying him that the mayor was requesting the removal of the flag and its wire.

Tautznik told the Gazette that while the flag is a “private endeavor” and the wire holding the flag is anchored on private property on one side of the pond, it is anchored in a Parks and Recreation Department managed cemetery on the other side. He said that he and the other volunteers who manage the flag are willing to cooperate with the city in order to keep the tradition going.

“We’ll present a lighting plan if that’s what they want. We weren’t aware that it was an issue,” said Tautznik. “I suspect we’ll submit a lighting plan to the Park and Rec. Commission.”

Mason did not respond immediately for comment on Thursday.

The initial email, sent by LaChapelle’s executive assistant, states that “this is not permitted by any city entity that we are aware of,” referring to the flag hanging over the pond.

Tautznik then sent a letter to the Parks and Recreation Commission “seeking affirmation for the continued anchoring of the suspended cable supporting the American Flag on Nashawannuck Pond.” The tradition of hanging the flag each year from Memorial Day to Veterans Day was established by Tautznik and a group of local business owners and individuals “and has become an ionic [sic] image of the City of Easthampton,” Tautznik said in his letter.

LaChapelle responded with a letter stating that, “While we were bringing up all city displays of the American flag to the US Federal Flag Code… I realized that the flag hanging over the pond was not in compliance with the Code. I instructed the Parks & Recreation Department to remove the flag and cable after Veterans Day.”

“This is not me, you know, wielding some lightning bolt of power,” LaChapelle told the Gazette. “Over the past few years all of the departments have taken a look at flagpoles throughout the city.”

In her letter, LaChapelle references the federal flag code that the flag over Nashawannuck Pond is in violation of, which states that, “It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flag staffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed twenty-four hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.”

This correspondence was posted online to the American Flag on Nashawannuck Pond Facebook page, sparking lively debate in community Facebook groups and drawing a large crowd to Wednesday’s Parks and Recreation Commission meeting.

In the Easthampton Facebook group, some community members lauded the flag as an iconic community symbol and a meaningful homage to veterans in the city. Others felt that flying flags in accordance with federal flag codes would be a better way to honor the country and its veterans, and some simply perceived the flag as an eyesore in the middle of the picturesque pond.

The Parks and Recreation Commission meeting about the flag has been rescheduled for Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. in the larger City Hall meeting space.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.