berkeley You, Flagpole!

My wife works at a small school that needs it's flag replaced.  It's a bit tattered, so much so that a local vet from the VFW gave us a flag.  What should be an easy job has turned into a massive pain in the butt.  So it's one of those poles with the hidden rope and in theory it should be easy to lower the flag.  First, The door to access the cam that controls the flags height had a lost key. So they found the key.. then the door/lock was frozen shut.. so we got the door open.  Now I can lever the cam and get the flag to come down to half mast but then it just stops...  I've dug around the base, looking for another door, but there is so much ice and frozen garbage down there I can't see Anything.  I tried grabbing the rope with a pair of channel locks and yanking on it to get it free..  That didn't work.

Now I'm thinking that water got into the pole and the rope in the base is frozen solid.  I don't know....  Any hints on how to fix this thing?  

I'm basically at the point where I'm going to call the town FD to see if they'll come out and change the flag for the school.  Or find someone with a bucket truck I can buy a 12 pack.

What about popping a plumbing torch into the door and heating the inside of the pole?  Let the heat rise and see if it frees antything up?  

Did you try raising the flag again slightly and see if it will drop past the halfway point? I am envisioning a ratchet-stop, much like on an air hose reel, that allows the flag to drop to a specific height for flying at half mast.

In reply to EastCoastMojo :

Tried that.  Didn’t work. 

If frozen as suspected, a torpedo heater at the base of the pole w/ a surround built to act like a stovepipe and let it run to melt the ice?

Wife's boss is calling the VFW to see if anyone has a bucket truck or access to one.  The flag is in really poor shape, it does need to be changed.. but what an ass pain.

I’d be surprised if you couldn’t get a fire truck or construction worker out to a school to change the flag by waving a beer or twelve.  Bonus points if you do it Monday morning while the teachers are trying to wrangle the kids into their seats. Actually fixing the problem can wait until warmer days.

Call the fire department.  They like to do such calls and it gives the pro time time with their ladder truck.  We used to have to call when the rope on our 125' flagpole got hung up and our 110' lift wouldn't quite get there.

FD is free and happy to help.

Apple valley fire would probably do it. 

Good news.  Wizened teacher says there is a lockbox in the ground with the rope in it and a knot tied so we can’t go below half staff.  

So still calling local fd.  The ground is still frozen. 

Just in case the next flag isn't required until after the wizened teacher passes on, you might want to write up comprehensive instructions to be left for safekeeping somewhere like the Custodian's Master File or something, so that whoever does it next has a head start.  And maybe include a duplicate key.  (Not that you weren't obviously having a ball with this, but the next guy might not have a sense of humour.)

I don't know how you people live in what is basically uninhabitable frozen wasteland.

1988RedT2 said:

I don't know how you people live in what is basically uninhabitable frozen wasteland.

In my case I married a local girl who refuses to leave shortly before relocation became a viable option. 

1988RedT2 said:

I don't know how you people live in what is basically uninhabitable frozen wasteland.

Our winters might be rough, but nobody beats our summers.

In reply to Stealthtercel :

Good thought. But most of the fun of these small schools is there is no maintenance staff.     A grand parent just redid the whole play ground and parents come in to change lightbulbs.  There is a guy who they pay to clean every night but he just confessed his undying love to one of the teachers through some very weird letter. So restraining order for him. 

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

It’s pretty simple.   I’ve lived in basically every part of this nation and this state is the best hands down for families. The data backs that up as well. Most major surveys( Annie e Cassie foundation and less scholarly ones) state that Minnesota is either the top place or say in the top 5 places to raise a kid. Good schools, good jobs,  good affordability.  But yeah. The winters suck. It’s cool. The winter keeps people away. Our states overall growth rate is about ~1% and our employment has been less than 4% for some time. https://www.bls.gov/web/metro/laulrgma.htm    The local amazon facility( which can’t get enough people) is advertising $17 to start.   An hour west o f me, in the total sticks, they have huge signs on factories that say “$13+ benefits to start”.  This is in places where homes cost ~$100k.  Has been like that for a year or more.   It is seriously tough to recruit people here   Everyone gets afraid of the winter.  So that means more jobs for me  

Simple answer   You shouldn’t move here it’s a tundra  people are mean and the kids steal your valve stem caps all the time  

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

No worries!  Enjoy your time in paradise!

Fueled by Caffeine said:

Good news.  Wizened teacher says there is a lockbox in the ground with the rope in it and a knot tied so we can’t go below half staff.  

How do you put on a new flag?

In reply to 914Driver :

I’m calling the fd to do it. 

Spammer eliminated from this 2018 thread. 

Move along, nothing to see here

In reply to John Welsh :

But we need resolution. Did the new flag get out on?  Find the hidden rope in the ground?

In reply to John Welsh :

Well now I've read the thread and I'm invested in if the flag got changed out or not.  Its been a few years, is the new flag in need of changing?  Were instructions written on the inside of the flagpole door for how to change the flag or a note put in on the knot in the rope?

That would be in the canoe category?

Man. My old thread brings all the canoes to the yard. 
 

yeah we replaced the flag. But the school hasn't put another one back up in years because the flagpole is a pain to deal with.  
 

Minnesota is still a frozen wasteland but having moved all around the country I've found it to be the best place to raise kids.  Would I retire here?  Probably not.  

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings
 

also we Minnesota just slipped to #2 on the list of best states to live in. We were #1. Buuut. You know recent events.