Decorative Flags

Mildred Callahan Jones (September 19, 1943 - January 17, 2008) was an American businesswoman known as the "flag lady", who pioneered and helped develop the decorative flag industry. more...

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Early life

Mildred Callahan was born on September 19, 1943, in Chase City, Virginia, and grew up on a tobacco farm. She earned her degree in nursing from what is now called Virginia Commonwealth University.

She met her husband, Thomas Jones, a lawyer, while working as a nursing manager at the Medical College of Virginia. The two bought their first home in the Fan district of Richmond, Virginia, which is one of the largest remaining Victorian neighborhoods left in North America.

Flag making

Jones originally started making flags as a hobby. Jones first purchased a piece of Scandinavian cloth in 1971 in order to guide party guests to her home in the Fan district section of Richmond, Virginia.

However, her interest in flag making turned into a small business after she hung a giant flag outside her home with the words, "It's a Boy", announcing the birth of her son in 1975. Jones, and her idea for decorative flags, soon propelled her into the national consciousness. Reporters from around the country, inclluding ABC's Good Morning America and the Wall Street Journal, soon began arriving at her Richmond home in order to file stories on the "flag lady," as Jones became known.

She founded her company, Festival Flags Unlimited Inc., The Original Decorative Flag, in 1977. In 1978, Jones and her family moved to the family's new home at 2307 Monument Avenue, which was also in Richmond's Fan district. She immediately put her new basement to good use as the center of her flag making company. (Her previous workroom had been a small guest bedroom in her old home.)

Jones specialized in one-of-a-kind stitched nylon flags personalized for her individual customers. Famous clients and customers reportedly included former United States President Ronald Reagan, as well as actors Jack Lemmon and Carol Channing. A special custom made flag was ordered by the Governor of Virginia as a gift to actor James Garner after he filmed a television movie in Richmond.

Read more at Wikipedia.org