Those Odd
Flagpole-Sitters

Attached herein is a 1929 magazine article that makes clear for us in the digital age how appealing the craze for flag pole sitting was to the YouTube-starved teenagers of the Twenties. This article tells the tale of Avon “Azie” Foreman and Jimmy Jones, two courageous flag pole sitting sons of Baltimore who inspired their feminine Maryland counterparts, Ruth McCruden and Dorthy Staylor, to ascend to perch. Flag pole sitting seemed so heroic that one woman was so moved as to put pen to paper and write:

“It was to me an inspiring sight when little ‘Azie’ slid down the pole. He had shown the indomitable spirit and courage of a real Christian youth, like the Crusaders of old, and I was proud to be there to applaud him. It is from such boys great missionaries are made.”