For 77 years, there has been an American flag flying at Nichols Park.
The 110-foot steel flag pole was removed Monday after a windstorm bent the steel pole threatening nearby electrical lines.
City public works director Ron Casey said an examination would be made to determine if the steel could be straightened or a replacement pole put up.
The original flag pole was moved from the intersection of Fifth and Main Street in 1940 when Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers constructed the park. It originally flew a flag purchased by Henryetta insurance man Lyman C. Hill. That flag measured 36-feet wide and 48-feet long and had been given to the city during World War I.
It was first flown at a three-day Fourth of July, 1940 celebration. That marked the completion of the swim beach, boat docks and diving tower.
The project took a total of 31 months to be completed and was originally named the “Jack Nichols Recreation Park.: That was recognizing Second Congressional District Rep. Jack Nichols who championed funding for the project.
Nichols had been a lawyer from Eufaula and served in Congress from 1935 to 1943. He resigned his Congressional seat to become vice-president of TWA Airlines. Two years later he died in a plane crash in Africa.