Hasn’t it been impressive to see all the United States flags along Key Avenue, East Third and Fourth streets, and ringing the Lampasas County Courthouse in recent weeks?

The American banners were to have come down on Monday, after having been on display for the Fourth of July weekend and for the city’s weeklong Spring Ho Festival.

I wish they could stay up year-round and that even more businesses and residences around town would have the flag on display. But what a welcome sight to see the heightened show of patriotism locally.

The placement of flags along Lampasas’ main thoroughfare and in the downtown was the work of George and Barbara McClure, Lampasas Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8539 and a number of others. If you see these volunteers, give them a big thank you.

We salute the VFW post for taking the initiative to raise the national standard high during the federal holiday and Spring Ho. Note: the VFW arranged for more flags for the Memorial Day weekend, and we can expect to see them on display on future holidays.

Think of the positive impression the cordon of flags makes on a motorist passing through our community. As Americans, we are uniquely blessed to live in a land where we have numerous liberties, though many are under attack today. The liberties we enjoy were made possible by the sacrifices of our Founding Fathers and our forebears. We need to let the world know we are grateful for those sacrifices.

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On a different subject, doesn’t Lampasas County look great in green -- especially in July?

The rains of the past two weeks -- after a drought had turned our countryside golden brown -- have been, well, a blessing from God.

I need to remind myself to say a prayer of thanks that He has supplied what we need, when we need it. I can remember as a kid when times were very dry, especially during the summer. People wondered out loud about such techniques as seeding the clouds with dry ice, in the hopes of producing rain.

But I like the approach Sweetwater residents used when they faced a similar situation. Instead of turning to man-made gadgetry to solve a giant problem, people in that West Texas city organized a citywide prayer event to ask God to provide rain. And He did, in abundant measure.

In the 1980s, pastors and others in this county also organized a public prayer meeting when rain was particularly needed. Only the Lord beat everyone to the punch. He sent rain before the event, so that the prayers were not petitions asking for rain, but were prayers of thanksgiving for what He just provided.

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Finally, a word of thanks is in order for the hardworking Spring Ho Committee of Marci Tomme, Jason Wykes, Celeste Johnson, Dean Tomme, David Brooks, Cathy Kuehne, Julie Williamson, Shane Hall, Casey Smart, Judith Ann McGhee, Bobby Liverman and Jody Cummings.

The people who sign on to bring the community Spring Ho do so by making a multiyear commitment to serve on the committee. They put in countless hours of preparation over a year’s time to help ensure that locals and their out-of-town guests will have a variety of events from which to choose over a whole week.

The local celebration -- the 39th run ended Sunday - - serves as a model of a well-run event for other cities throughout the state.

Great work, Spring Ho Committee. Thank you for providing fun entertainment for the whole family and for visitors to Lampasas. You did it again!

Jim Lowe is editor and publisher of the Lampasas Dispatch Record.