Flag Day | Winners Drink Milk!

Indianapolis 500 Milk Bottle

The Drink of Milk in Victory Lane For over 70 years, winners of the Indianapolis 500 have celebrated in Victory Lane (now Victory Circle) with a hearty swig from an ice-cold bottle of milk – a ceremony recognized around the world as unique to the Indy 500. In an interview shortly before his death in 1995, Meyer recalled that his favorite beverage during his driving years was buttermilk and that’s what he asked for following the second of his three wins. Three years later, on the occasion of his third 500-Mile victory, he was photographed drinking milk in Victory Lane. Several years after that, the Bottle of Milk became a permanent part of the post-race celebration when Anton “Tony” Hulman decided that milk was a wholesome and appropriate beverage for Victory Lane festivities. For those who may be wondering what the winning driver drinks, it’s no longer buttermilk. Today, it’s delicious, nutrient rich, ice-cold milk served in a glass quart bottle. The American Dairy Association of Indiana and its Indiana dairy farm families are responsible for ensuring that the Victory Circle tradition endures and prospers. In fact, Sports Illustrated magazine has recognized the bottle of milk given annually to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 as No. 1 among the "sports world's coolest prizes."

Are You a Vexillologist?

Posted on June 13, 2012 by crisgoode

By Mary Nicholson

Are you a Vexillologist? No, it’s not a new kind of extreme diet. You could be one without even knowing it. Here’s a clue: June 14. Still not sure? Well, a vexillologist is one who likes to study flags, and June 14 is officially Flag Day. And for that, we have to be thankful. In 1885, he was a 19 year old teacher at Stony Hill school in Fredonia, Wisconsin and on June 14th of that year, he placed a 10 inch, 38-star flag in a bottle on his desk. The date commemorated the adoption by Congress of the Stars and Stripes as the flag of the United States in 1777. He then assigned his students to write essays on the flag and its significance. Cigrand spent much time and effort to bring about national observance of Flag Day. Many years later, his efforts were recognized when President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation on May 30, 1916, calling for a nationwide observance of Flag Day. In 1949, President Harry Truman signed an Act of Congress which designated the 14^th day of June every year as National Flag Day. More recently, on June 14th 2004, Congress voted unanimously on HR 662 that Flag Day originated in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin.

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