Look up: Sault business erects tallest flagpole in town

EDITOR'S NOTE: A version of this article originally appeared on SooToday on Nov. 22. It is being republished here for readers who may have missed it.

Motorists driving around the Sault this week, particularly in the central part of town, may notice some extra red and white fluttering in the windy air.

Workers at Service Rentals and Sales, an equipment rental agency on Sackville Road, recently raised a massive Canadian flag on a giant pole that stands at an impressive height of 120 feet.

The store’s general manager Darren McGonegal claims it is most likely the tallest flagpole in the entire Algoma district.

“It’s huge; you can see it from Great Northern Road and the Water Tower no problem,” he told SooToday. “You should be able to see our flag coming off the bridge. I haven’t driven all over town yet, but I would imagine if you’re down in the west end below the hill, you could probably see the flag on a clear day from there too.”

“You really have to look at it to get a feel of exactly how big this thing actually is,” he added.

The Service Rentals team took the opportunity to film parts of the construction process as well as the flag raising. Drone footage was shot by Jesse Vanden'loo.

Also boasting a notably large Canadian flag in the east end, the Husky’s flagpole is estimated to stand at 100 feet tall according to McGonegal.

“The Husky’s flag itself is a bit bigger, theirs is 20 feet by 40 feet, while ours is 15 by 35,” he said. “But ours appears to be the highest.”

The interest from Service Rentals to install a flagpole on their property began several months ago. The team found a pole from a school that was being torn down in downtown Toronto, and they eventually had it ordered and shipped to the Sault.

But McGonegal noted they were not aware of its enormity.

“In the beginning, we had no intentions of being the biggest,” he said. “We honestly didn’t realize it was that big, or the amount of detail that goes into putting a flagpole up like this. But once we got started, we had to continue on.”

The equipment rental agency hired several local contractors to design, engineer, and install the base of the pole. After two months of work, the flagpole was complete on Monday, and the Canadian flag was raised on Tuesday.

“It’s been a long road to get it up,” McGonegal said. “It’s a little bit of pride; something for everyone to see and enjoy. It’s just something to make everyone feel good.”

“It would have been nice if we could put it up for Remembrance Day, but the timing and weather didn’t allow it to come up,” he added. “We would have liked to put it up and have the flag raising that day, but we just couldn’t pull it off with the weather unfortunately.”

The team at Service Rentals and Sales are hoping to install lights underneath the flag over the next week or so. And to celebrate the holiday season, McGonegal says they’re looking to use the flagpole to raise their annual aluminum star that would normally be displayed on a man lift.

“I’m considering putting that up underneath the flag, but I’m not sure if the cable is strong enough,” he said. “We have to do a little bit of engineering. It’d be nice to get the star up there, you’d see it from all over town. But we’re not sure if we can pull that off yet.”