Nahant group makes flags fly

NAHANT – The 40 Step Quilters would have made Betsy Ross proud.Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group of 10 women, new American flags will fly along the parade route for Memorial Day and the Fourth of July.Molly Conlin, who is one of the members of the 40 Step Quilters, said the group made and raffled off a patriotic quilt to raise money to purchase new American flags.”Some of the flags were getting old and really needed to be replaced,” she said.The quilters raised $550 by selling raffle tickets for the patriotic quilt and the American Legion provided matching funds so the town had the funds to purchase 48 3-foot by 5-foot flags for the parade route.The Department of Public Works spent much of the day Friday putting the flags up along the parade route just in time for Memorial Day.The 40 Step Quilters got its start a decade ago. Conlin said the group meets once a month and each sewing circle usually lasts for six hours.”We like to make at least one quilt a year for charity,” she said. “It usually takes 150 man hours or more to make a quilt. A lot of time and work go into them but it’s more fun than work. We really love doing it.”