Made In The USA, 40 Miles West Of Chicago: Old Glory
(CBS) -- There's a good chance when you let your patriotic colors show this Fourth of July weekend you can thank a certain Batavia company.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole shows us why.
It is a banner day at JC Schultz Flag Source. But then again, every day is.
The Batavia company is one of the largest manufacturers of U.S. flags, and they produce millions.
"This year was an extra busy time," Janice Christiansen says. "No one knows quite why."
Maybe that's because it's an election year, or maybe it's something else.
"The flag is what we stand for and I think people need to have a symbol of what we stand for," Christiansen says.
Giant flags are sewn from the top of a two story platform, their red white and blue fabrics cascading into baskets to keep them from touching the ground.
The needles and threads of a massive embroidery machine help create 20 star fields at a time. It's reinforced by four and a half feet of concrete to keep it from churning into the ground.
What do people not understand about making a flag?
"Here's exactly what they don't understand," Christiansen says. "There are at least 21 steps that go into a U.S. flag, with the blue material, with the star field, with the red striping, the white striping. It's very labor-intensive. A machine does not stamp out a flag -- a person makes it."
A person also helped grow the business – Janice.
"When you marry into the Christiansen family, you marry into the flag business," she says.
As a young widow with two sons in the 80's, she took over struggling operations and stitched together a company whose flags have helped Americans celebrate duty, honor and country.
Janice Christiansen didn't want to wave her own flag, but it was our honor to do it for her. Workers at the factory have been on the job for 10- and 12-hour shifts to meet higher demand.
They are getting an extra unexpected day off Saturday to celebrate the Fourth and their hard work.
