Delco pride finds its way to the Jersey Shore every summer when Delco flags go on display at the beach and at nearby summer homes.

They join a variety of themed flags that have become part of the backdrop for an ocean-side summer vacation, writes Jen A. Miller for The New York Times.

College logos still dominate, but sports teams and other causes get their day in the sun as well.  

Historians aren’t quite sure when the whole flag thing started.

Dorothy Hordubay, 85, remembers college flags hanging from boardinghouses where lifeguards spent the summer back in 1948 in Stone Harbor.

It’s a tradition that’s stayed with Philadelphia region visitors as they moved from draping flags over porch railings to mounting them from short flagpoles off of balconies.

College flags that once helped visitor navigate to a house now are flown with pride.

“If your child or yourself has gone to an Ivy League school, you want to show that off a little,” said Simon Joseph, a Philadelphia-based vexillologist.

Sports pride is a flag as well, and these days you’ll find many causes and political views also blowing in the wind.

Read more about the shore flag phenomena in The New York Times.

Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on DELCO Today in July 2024.