The Record Special Sections Tribute to Veterans 11-11-2019 | Page 3

NORTHJERSEY.COM ❚ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2019 ❚ 3
TRIBUTE TO VETERANS
150th ANNIVERSARY
Gates Flag & Banner Celebrates
Its History and Connection to Veterans
By JOSEPH RITACCO
Tribute to Veterans
T
he secret to 150 years of business
success is known only to a precious
few, but the Gates family, fifth-
generation owners of Gates Flag &
Banner Company, Inc. in Clifton, believes
the answer lies in a product as meaningful
and recognizable as any sold in this country.
“We’re very lucky because we have
an amazing product, the United States
flag made in the United States,” said Lisa
Gates-McCormick, president and fourth-
generation owner. “It’s a symbol that’s very
important to people, and the people who
come in here are very important to us.”
Founded in 1870 in Brooklyn, NY, Gates
Flag & Banner began as a manufacturer of
wooden ladders and flagpoles. The busi-
ness moved to Paterson in the early 1900s,
occupying a location on River Street until
1925, when it moved to Market Street, the
company’s home until 1980.
“My dad, William C. Gates, and his par-
ents lived upstairs in the Market Street
building until he married,” said Gates-
McCormick. “My grandmother lived there
through the mid-1970s, so I spent much of
my childhood there.”
The company has spent the past 40
years at its current home, 6 E. First St. in
Clifton, where it transitioned away from
ladders and now offers a full line of quality
flags and large and small flagpoles, as well
as installation, delivery and service of in-
ground flagpoles.
The U.S. flag, said Gates-McCormick, is
a big part of the overall business structure,
as the company sells a variety of them,
including indoor, outdoor and stick flags,
as well as historic ones. “Sometimes,” she
said, “people like to buy flags that reflect
the age of their home. If they own a home
built in the 1860s, they want an 1860s flag.”
Business is heaviest in advance of the
Memorial Day and Independence Day holi-
days, and spikes again for September 11 and
Veterans Day. “The week before Memorial
Day we’ll have stacks and stacks of flags,”
said Gates-McCormick. “Between April and
May, towns will re-do all their flags to get
them ready for parades. Towns want fresh
flags flying.”
Gates Flag & Banner also has a full stock
of military flags, including Air Force, Army,
Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, Merchant
Marine, Civil Services, P.O.W., Veterans and
Gates Flag & Banner Company has been a local landmark business since 1870. Staff at the Clifton store includes (l-r) owner Lisa
Gates-McCormick, Joseph Pugliese, Rick Sole (general manager), John Healy, Mark McCormick, Katelyn Deering and Pamela MacDonald.
Mourning flags. Accessories include flag
display cases, grave markers, stick flags for
cemeteries and eagles and spears for the
tops of flagpoles.
“We’ve always carried military flags,”
said Gates-McCormick. “Some of our
customers are veterans or have sons or
daughters serving overseas, and they want
to show pride in their family members and
fly those flags at home.”
The company offers 10 percent dis-
counts throughout the year to all veterans,
and 20 percent discounts for Veterans Day.
It also maintains longstanding relationships
with local VFW and American Legion posts,
offering services to support causes for vet-
erans and active military members.
One such relationship is with St. Philip
the Apostle Knights of Columbus Council
#11671 in Clifton, which hosts its annual
Tank Pull Challenge to raise money for
Wounded Warriors and other veterans’
groups. The unique event, which challenges
participants — individuals and teams — to
pull a tank perched on a flatbed truck, has
raised over $1 million in the past 10 years.
“We always wanted to do something
for the veterans,” said Raymond Lill, who
co-founded the event with fellow Knights
of Columbus member John V. Hughes.
“This was sort of a gimmicky idea to get a
tank and ask people to pull it, and it took us
two years to get it going because people
thought we were crazy.”
Lill found local businesses, including
Gates Flag & Banner, were eager to help.
“I reached out to Lisa because she is local,
and she has been very generous. She loves
the veterans and can’t do enough to help
us. She’s always been great to us.”
The company provides the flags that line
Clifton Avenue on the day of the event, as
well as the American flag and bunting that
adorn the tank. “We were just a couple of
nutty guys with a nutty idea, but it’s been a
dream come true,” said Lill.
Gates Flag & Banner also serves its
community during the most somber of
occasions. Shortly after the assassination
of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, it
was third-generation owner William C. Gates
who hung mourning bunting all around the
city of Paterson. In the days following the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, his
William C. Gates, circa 1960
See GATES FLAG, Page 7