Liam Janouskovec, a member of Scouting America Troop 404 in Cranberry Township, clips the American Flag on the pole during a Flag Day ceremony at the Cranberry Elks Lodge 2249. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle

Cranberry Elks Lodge 2249 had its annual Flag Day Ceremony, Saturday, June 14, carrying on a tradition the Elks started as the first fraternal organization to mandate formal observance of the holiday.

At the ceremony, the Cranberry VFW Post 879 color guard presented the flag and members of Scouting America Troop 404 raised it outside.

In 1908, the Elks Lodges began the tradition of an annual ceremony to honor the flag, a practice that predates the official recognition of Flag Day by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson's proclamation, it was not until Aug. 3, 1949, that President Truman, himself a member of the Elks, signed an Act of Congress designating June 14 of each year as National Flag Day, according to the Cranberry Elks.

Grayson Jacobs, a member of Scouting America Troop 404 in Cranberry Township, salutes an American flag Saturday, June 14, at the Cranberry Elks Flag Day ceremony. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle

Scouting America Troop 404 in Cranberry Township held a flag-raising ceremony Saturday at the Cranberry Elks Lodge 2249. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle

Benicio Tobler, a member of Scouting America Troop 404 in Cranberry Township, salutes the flag during a ceremony Saturday at the Cranberry Elks Lodge 2249. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle

Grayson Jacobs and Lucas Lesue, members of Scouting America Troop 404 in Cranberry Township, prevent the United States Flag from touching the ground during a flag-raising ceremony Saturday at the Cranberry Elks Lodge 2249. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle.