SCRANTON -- The conditions were just right on this Fourth of July, for a giant American flag to wave in the wind along the North Scranton Expressway.
Joe Shea and his employees at North American Manufacturing put their blood sweat and tears into making this American flag. Shea calls it the "world's largest free-flying American flag." It measures 90 and a half feet by 60 and a half feet, beating a previously held world record.
"God bless America. It brings tears to my eyes. It really does," Shea said.
Shea bought a piece of land along the expressway to show off the flag, and it certainly gets a lot of attention.
A passing Norfolk Southern train stopped so that its conductor could snap a picture. The weather conditions needed to be perfect for the flag to fly on the fourth.
"Wind is the most important thing. If it's over eight miles an hour, it doesn't work. It gets flipped all around and everything. It's four miles an hour all day today, so it worked out absolutely perfect," Shea said.
When it's all wrapped up, the flag weighs close to 500 pounds.
Shea and his wife Suzi own North American Manufacturing. They make normal sized flags for the military.
"American flags made here in Scranton, I think that's wonderful, absolutely," said Suzi Shea. "It's beautiful. It's incredible. It's just magnificent in what it represents. And just to stand underneath it and see it flying it just makes you so proud to be an American."