Patriotic banner donated to Tharptown VFD

R U S S E L L V I L L E — Lottie Coan, who has served as secretary- treasurer for the Tharptown Volunteer Fire Department since 2015, was sitting in her living room when the idea came to her to purchase a patriotic banner to hang at the fire station.

After looking through several possibilities, she selected a design from Walmart online featuring a soaring bald eagle against an American flag. The display now stretches across the side of the station facing Underwood Road.

“That represents our country,” she said. “It stands for patriotism and America being strong and just good old USA.”

She personally paid for the banner, new American flags and LED lighting as a gift to the department ahead of the Fourth of July celebration and the country’s 250th birthday.

Installing it took more than simply hanging it.

Her husband, Fire Chief Doug Coan, drilled anchors into the station’s concrete wall to secure the display. The work stretched across two evenings with the installation taking about an hour and a half.

“Once we brought it out and put it against the building the colors popped,” he said.

“I was impressed,” he said about the finished display. “At first, it didn’t look as vivid as I thought it would look. We got it up against the wall, and it just kind of seemed to come to life.”

He said older residents began calling soon after the banner went up.

“A lot of the elders of the community have been calling and commenting on it,” he said.

One retired Russellville schoolteacher called after seeing the display and wanted to know who was responsible.

“I told her it was my wife,” he said. “She said, ‘I came by, and that just brought tears to my eyes.’” For Lottie, the display represents much more than holiday decoration. She said she hopes that when people see it they feel pride. She hopes people remember the generations of Americans who have served and sacrificed for the country.

“I want them to remember the people from 1776 on, how in each war people died to keep our country free,” she said. “The national anthem always brings tears to my eyes.”

Doug said the nation’s 250th anniversary gives the project added significance.

“Two hundred and 50 years of freedom is a lot,” he said.

Lottie’s connection to the department began long before the banner. She said she followed her husband to the fire station over the years and became interested in helping. She eventually joined the department’s ground support team before taking on the secretary-treasurer role.

She has volunteered with the department for about 20 years and has served as secretary-treasurer since about 2015.

“I like volunteering and helping out,” Lottie said.

Doug said much of her work happens behind the scenes.

“She’s a support person, but I call her the backbone,” he said.