By Tresa Erickson

Most of us know Bet-sy Ross as the woman who made the first American flag. We picture her meeting with George Washington and fash-ioning the stars and stripes afterward, but whether such a meeting took place remains in question.

Ross was born Elizabeth "Betsy" Griscom on January 1, 1752, the eighth child of Quakers Samuel and Rebec-ca Griscom. Ross learned the art of sewing in school and worked as an apprentice for a local upholsterer upon gradu-ation. There, she met her first husband John Ross.

John Ross was not a Quak-er, and when Betsy married him in 1773, she severed all ties with her family. The cou-ple started their own uphol-stery business, and when war hit, John Ross served on the

militia. He died in 1776 from a gunpowder explosion. Bet-sy Ross would marry twice more, but it was her supposed meeting with George Wash-ington, general of the Conti-nental Army, in the spring of 1777 that would catapult her name into fame.

Betsy Ross had known Washington for some time and worked for him on many occasions. As the story goes, Washington and a couple of colleagues, George Ross and Robert Morris, stopped by Ross' upholstery shop one day to show her their design for the new flag. Upon reviewing the design, Ross suggested they make the stars five point-ed and demonstrated to them how easily she could do so with the snip of her scissors. Ross was hired.

While Ross did indeed make flags, there is no evi-dence proving that she met with Washington and created

the first stars and stripes. No one knows for certain who was responsible for making the first American flag, though Francis Hopkinson is partially given credit by Congress for the first flag design. Many up-holsterers of the day took up flag-making during the war, and someone else very well could have made the first one.

Ross' grandson William J. Canby is credited for launch-ing the story of Ross and the first stars and stripes in the 1870s. At the time, Amer-icans were eager for tales of Revolutionary heroes, so when Canby presented a pa-per to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania claiming his grandmother had sewn the first flag, few found reason to argue otherwise. After all, he had several sworn affidavits from family members stating that they had heard the story from Betsy Ross herself. It didn't matter that Canby had only been 11 years when Ross had supposedly met with Washington.

There is no concrete proof linking Ross to the flag. She might have very well made the first one, and she might very well have not. No one knows for sure. Ross did make flags, however, and a visit to her home in Philadel-phia, PA, will provide crucial insight into her life.

By Sam Erickson

Independence Day is one of the most accident-prone holidays of the year. It's not the drinking and driving, but the one thing that everyone looks most forward to on the 4th that causes the most prob-lems-the fireworks. The Na-tional Council of Fireworks Safety estimates that between 7,000 and 10,000 injuries oc-cur every year because of fire-works. Being aware of a few basic rules for fireworks safe-ty can keep everyone healthy.

Little kids are probably the most excited by fireworks, but they are also the ones in the most danger. It's important to have a conversation with kids every year about fireworks safety, particularly as they

get older and get a little more independent. Kids like to ex-plore and imitate their parents or older siblings, so start them off with something small and stress safety at every turn.

Alcohol is not uncommon at 4th of July celebrations, but drinking and fireworks, much like drinking and driving, are not a good combination. Al-cohol can impair judgment and encourage additional risk taking. Just as you would have a designated driver at a New Year's Eve party, have a designated fireworks lighter that evening.

Fireworks should be used as they are intended, and you want to make sure you use le-gal fireworks. The attraction of illegal fireworks can be great, but there is no guaran-

tee you will get anything of quality or safe. Unregulated fireworks can have defects that will make them explode. It can also be tempting to twist fireworks together to see them explode, but this too can have unintended, dangerous consequences. Always keep a safe distance from fireworks and shoot in an open space. This safe distance should be maintained by the shooter and by visitors. Just in case some-thing happens, keep a bucket

of water or a hose nearby.If you don't use all of

your fireworks, you'll have to store them. Keep them in a dry place free of any sources of ignition. Store them away from oil, gas or kerosene, and try to have them behind a locked door so that children and teens won't raid the stash when you aren't looking. Make sure there is a working smoke detector in the room and you have a fire extin-guisher nearby just in case.

Malvern Daily Record - Saturday, July 1, 2017 - 7A

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Fireworks safety

Betsy Ross: did she or didn't she?

Whip the butter on medium high speed for 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. Once sugar is incorporated, increase speed to medium high and add the vanilla, then food coloring. Whip until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

4th of July cupcakes• 3 cups cake flour sifted• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder• 1/2 teaspoon salt• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

• 2/3 cup butter• 2 eggs• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract• 1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Cream sugar and butter together until light. Add eggs and vanilla to creamed mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Continue beating one minute. Pour into prepared muffin pans. Bake 18-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on rack; remove and cool completely before decorating.

• 1 cup unsalted butter at room tempera-ture

• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract• red food coloring

Icing

Cupcakes

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