Unflagging devotion

The emotional memories military veterans share in Lance Johnson’s tiny shop often remind him why he’s in the American flag and patriotic souvenir business.

But the Vietnam War veterans who enter Uncle Sam’s Flag & Gift, look over military memorabilia and leave without saying a word humble him most.

“You just know that’s somebody who’s dealing with some bad memories,” he said.

“That’s when you take a deep swallow and say ‘Boy, there’s a lot of people out there we need to be grateful (to) for our freedom,” he said, becoming slightly choked up as he moved about his merchandise-packed store.

Today, people around the nation will celebrate freedom by attending parades and watching fireworks displays. And many others, an estimated 25 million Americans in fact, will flock to purchase patriotic memorabilia, according to the National Retail Federation.

Those people will help boost sales for businesses like Johnson’s, with nearly 16 percent of people in the West stating they’ll buy at specialty shops, according to the retail trade group.

Johnson, 45, runs one such shop, a 200-square-foot showroom and an adjacent office of similar size tucked along the busy six lanes of East Sprague Avenue in Spokane Valley.

As far as he can tell, his Uncle Sam’s Flag & Gift, which opened on May 1, is unique in town, he said. And business has already been good, despite the fact that his shop is so new it doesn’t have a sign for its pole and it’s not listed in the phone book.

Without any form of advertising, Johnson estimates that since May 1 he’s sold about 50 of his retractable “telescoping” flagpole kits, which run about $200 each, between selling at his shop and at shows and community celebrations. That’s not counting any of the 2,000 other items that pack his tiny shop, including light-up hats, coins, stickers, models and T-shirts.

And his business was increasing as people stocked up on memorabilia in preparation for the Fourth of July holiday. Johnson, who runs his shop alone, will lock the doors today to sell at Riverfront Park’s annual Neighbor Day celebration, he said.

To Johnson, a 20-year Navy veteran with a Navy-veteran father who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, sales mean more than income. Even if he won the lottery and didn’t have to run the shop himself, he’d continue because he likes to help put American flags in front yards, he said.

He currently sells about six U.S. flags a day, he estimated.

“Spokane is a very patriotic city,” he said, citing that patriotism — plus high gas prices — as the reasons he chose to settle here after selling his goods on the road for years. “If you compare it to other cities, there are a lot of flags flying in Spokane.”

Johnson, who was born and raised in Lewiston, Idaho, said he also started his business because he appreciates the stories veterans share with him.”I’ve met prisoners or war, a lot of Vietnam veterans,” Johnson said, “and just general American patriots who like to fly their colors.”