Teen designs flag for his hometown

Jefferson Township was established in 1804 but it never had an official town flag - until Jack Murphy decided to create one.

“Originally, it was more of an idea that I didn’t know I would go through with,” he said. “It wasn’t until my Grandma pushed me to try and make it a real thing. I ended up working with the mayor on finalizing a design and it became real.”

The teen started the project in October 2022 when he in seventh grade. He sent an email to the mayor. After some meetings, emails and a few design changes, Jefferson had an official town flag.

The flag was raised at the town hall June 26.

“It was absolutely amazing because it was a very long process and he stuck with it from beginning to end,” said Jack’s father, John. “Especially when we got to go to the municipal building and see the flag for the first time and watch it go up the flagpole; it was breathtaking.”

Jack’s love for flags stems from his father introducing him to the FIFA World Cup, an international soccer competition. He really got into soccer and all of the countries involved. He learned about the players, where they are from, their culture and most importantly their flags.

His favorite team is Liverpool in England. That team is in fourth place in the Premier League.

Jack is beginning his freshman year of high school and is excited to enter a new environment.

His favorite subject is World History and he is on the freshman soccer team at Jefferson Township High School. If he had to choose a career now, it would be sports medicine.

As far other students who spot a need in their town as he did in Jefferson, Jack advises, “If there are any other people who are interested in their town or other stuff within the community, I think they should definitely act on it.”