By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The 1200 block of Felten Drive in Hays is adorned with the Stars and Stripes proudly waving in almost every yard.
The work is thanks to one man — Jerry Jacobs, a retired veteran whose hobby is making flag poles.
"I just love being patriotic, and I love watching the flags fly," he said.
Jacobs, 78, was in the National Guard for six years during the 1970s and on active duty for 18 months at Fort Hood in Texas. That is where he learned to operate a lathe, which he uses in his flag pole production.
Jacobs builds every flag pole, upon request, to exacting standards.
He's built 14 poles to date, six of which are on his block, Jerry said as he rocked in a white wooden rocker on his front porch, which is adorned with all sorts of patriotic decor.
"Everyone was anxious to get a flag and show their patriotism," Kathy Jacobs, Jerry's wife, said of their neighbors.
Fencing railing from chain-link fences is used so that the pole will not bend in the strong Kansas wind. Jacobs uses a special self-designed bearing system and weight so the flags will pivot around the poles in the wind and not wrap around the poles.
Each pole is fitted with a solar light to illuminate the flag at night. In addition, he uses metal decorative pieces for the finials on tops of the poles.
Jacobs recycles all sorts of brass and other items for this purpose, including candle holders and incense burners. Each pole is also stamped with a date.
Kathy said Jerry is passionate about his projects.
"It's funny, sometimes we'll be in bed and I'm just about ready to fall asleep, and he'll say, 'Should I use that 3/4-inch screw or 7/8?' I say, 'Shut up! Go to bed! Quit thinking!' But he's always building something."
He built a gun cabinet, but Kathy uses it as a hutch for her dishes.
With the exception of the framing, Jerry, who once ran his own air-conditioning business, built the house the couple lives in today on Felten Drive.
Jacobs patriotism is not just displayed on the exterior of his home. In his downstairs man cave, he has a 1776 flag and a 48-star flag alongside a portrait of President Eisenhower.
Kathy said Jerry goes all out decorating for the holidays. He has painted a large collection of bowling balls in holiday motifs. For the Fourth of July, he's painted balls in red, white in blue. He painted bowling balls to look like large Christmas ornaments. He has "bunny balls" for Easter and yet another set for Halloween. Has more than 60 Christmas balls alone.
The porch has hooks from which to suspend the decorated bowling balls. Storing and hanging the decorations is no small feat. Each ball weighs about 16 pounds.
Word got around that he was decorating the bowling balls, and they just started showing up outside of his shop, Kathy said.
When asked why he likes to decorate, he said, "I just like to be different. Celebrate the occasion, you might say."
