Downtown Businesses Sky-High with Patriotism

Flying Right

Honoring the American flag, history and community

By Bonnie Stevens, FBN

Fourth-generation Arizona Babbitt Billy Cordasco got a bit of a tear in his eye as he felt the significance of the moment – the majesty of the snow-capped San Francisco Peaks above the town on a brisk April morning, the deep meaning of a prominent flag staff back in service for a city bearing the same name and the glory of the American flag being raised atop the historic Babbitt Building where his family has conducted business since 1886.

“This is what community looks like – joining together in the historic downtown with dear family members, long-time friends, local business owners and the Flagstaff Fire Department to honor our country in the quiet and beatify of an early spring Flagstaff morning,” said Cordasco, from the basket of Flagstaff Fire Station 3’s ladder truck with Fire Captain Ray Gonzalez and firefighter Kate Williams. “I’ve never seen this view of the mountains before from above the Babbitt Building. The grandeur of the Peaks and all that this morning represents, well, it just strikes me how wonderful it is to be a part of this community, living in this very special place. I said to myself, ‘This is home.’”

For Cordasco, president and general manager of Babbitt Ranches, it was especially meaningful to have his cousin, historian and businessman Jim Babbitt, in attendance. “The downtown would not be what it is today if it hadn’t been for Jim,” he said, as he noted Babbitt’s efforts to restore historic buildings and encourage a movement to revitalize the downtown in the 1990s.

The morning was momentous for Captain Gonzalez and Flagstaff Fire Station 4 crewmembers, as well, including engineer Caleb “CJ” Myers whose dad, Dave Myers, has worked for Babbitt Ranches for more than 35 years. “We’re straightening up American flags in downtown Flagstaff for the community and the American people,” said Gonzalez, as they fixed difficult-to-reach rooftop flagpoles in the early morning on Saturday, April 3.

Ensuring the structural integrity of the Babbitt Building flagpole were Dean Gallaher and Mark Perkins.

Gonzalez said Flagstaff Fire and the Babbitt family have worked together on community projects for years. Every holiday season, for example, Babbitt Ranches offers Christmas tree permits to the families of Flagstaff firefighters. For decades, Gonzalez has been a big part of the Christmas tree cutting brigades on the ranchland, bringing the symbolic evergreens back to Flagstaff and making them available to families in need as part of the Flagstaff Fire Department’s Christmas Adopt-a-Family program.

“The fire department is grateful for our long relationship with Babbitt Ranches,” said Gonzalez. “Togeth-

Mike Mongini, Billy Cordasco, Jim Babbitt, Ray Gonzalez, Caleb Myers and Kate Williams gather in downtown Flagstaff to fix

flagpoles. Photo by V. Ronnie Tierney, Fresh Focuses Photography

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