OLLI Bonus Program Presents

Betsy Ross: Did She Create the American Flag? 

Friday, March 2, at  1:00 p.m. in the Large Auditorium

Since March is Women’s History Month, we consider the reality or myth that Betsy Ross actually created the first American Flag.  Join us as Historian Richard Rhone describes the details of her life.  What kind of a woman was she?  Elizabeth “Betsy” Ross (January 1, 1752 – January 30, 1836), also known by her second and third married names, Ashburn and Claypoole, was a flag maker for the Pennsylvania navy and is widely credited with making the first American flag. According to family tradition, upon a visit from General George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, in 1776, Ross convinced George Washington to change the shape of the stars he had sketched for the flag from six-pointed to five-pointed by demonstrating that it was easier and speedier to cut the latter.