Why do some in York County fly the Confederate flag?

Steve Elliott says when he looks at the Confederate battle flag flying in his front yard, he sees a symbol of his heritage, not slavery.

"It's ridiculous," the Windsor Township man said. "Every time something comes up, we've always got to throw the American people under the bus."

Elliott had heard about such retail giants as WalMart, Sears and eBay deciding this week to not sell the flag following the recent massacre at a black church in South Carolina. Prior to that, the shooting suspect had been photographed with the flag.

In light of the killings, officials in numerous states are calling for the removal of the flag and other symbols of the Confederacy. This includes flags on license plates, statues and other public displays.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has called for the flag, which flies at the South Carolina State House in Columbia, to come down.

"The hate-filled murderer who massacred our brothers and sisters in Charleston has a sick and twisted view of the flag. In no way does he reflect the people in our state who respect, and in many ways, revere it," Haley said earlier this week.

For many others, however, it is a "deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past," and she argued that removing it from such a public space will help South Carolina come together and heal.

Elliott bristles with the idea that the shooting had anything to do with the flag, saying, "If somebody's nuts, they're nuts ... Just because somebody did something stupid, why should I be penalized?"

Although born in Pennsylvania, Elliott said his parents come from West Virginia.

In his front yard on Windsor Road, he flies an American flag, flanked by a POW-MIA flag and the Confederate flag.

Elliott said over the years, he's had plenty of people honk and wave as they drove by, in support of his flags. When the Confederate flag has been down for repairs, people have stopped and asked when he planned to fly it again, he said.

He has no plans to take it down, and said he gets along with people of all races.

"The way you treat me, I treat you," he said.

Elliott added that he doesn't get upset over Islamic flags, or flags of other heritages that people fly.

"The only flag I get upset over is the Nazi flag; that's the only one I'm prejudiced against," he said.

Elliott's not alone in York County, where Confederate flags can be found in other yards and in vehicle windows.

Along a rural back road in Codorus Township, Horace Almony flies the American flag as well as the Confederate flag. He said others in the area have flown the Confederate battle flag over the years, but some of them have moved away.

Representatives from the Southern York County School District came to him years ago and said it would be nice if he would take it down, Almony said. He said the school was having some problems.

"I told them it wasn't coming down," he said.

In Dover, a Confederate flag hangs over a window of a home along heavily traveled Route 74.

Albert Trice, 53, said his stepson had just put it up on Wednesday because of people trying to burn the flag and some retailers saying they will no longer sell merchandise with the image on it.

He doesn't think they should take the flag down and stop selling items because "someone was being stupid and going out and shooting someone."

Trice said he doesn't think the flag had anything to do with the shooting in South Carolina. He believes it had to do with the shooting suspect's upbringing and a matter of disrespect.

"Hatred comes from people, not the flag," he said.

By birth, he's a Yankee, Trice said. By heart, he's a Southerner.

"I was always like that since I was little," he said.

Historical items

Steam Into History in New Freedom portrays both the Union and Confederate sides of the Civil War.

A gift shop inside includes figurines from both sides of the battle. One of the Confederate figurines has a Confederate battle flag.

"It's a part of history," said D. Reed Anderson, a member of the board of directors. "It's not here for a political statement."

The York County Parks, which runs Hanover Junction, does not sell Confederate flags, said Carl Lindquist, a county spokesman.

More...

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