A deep clean at the Doherty Middle School cafeteria turned up a 132-year-old flag pole earlier this winter.
Custodian Michael Richards (photo, above) was removing quilts from the wall when he noticed a small plaque on one of the poles with an inscription reading “Presented to the Punchard Cadets by the Young Ladies of the P.F.S. – November 21, 1891.”
Researchers at the Andover Center for History and Culture found an Andover Townsmen article from Nov. 27, 1891 about the presentation of a silk flag by Kittie Perkins of the Punchard School’s senior class.
While the center “hasn’t been able to confirm that this flagpole is the same one in the photograph, the timing of the article along with the inscription on the plaque is a promising connection,” Andover Public Schools said in its weekly APS Insider newsletter. “The Andover Center for History and Culture has considered adding the flagpole to its permanent collection.”
Photo: Andover Public Schools